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Attleboro trying to install system that can detect gunshots in schools

Shots were fired outside a school in Oregon Friday, and police shot and killed a man after he pulled a gun while they wee escorting him from the school.

No students or teachers were injured in the incident, but it's those types of situations that have a school district across the country here in Massachusetts looking to install "gun shot detection" systems.

Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux says the system would be installed in all schools, including the new high school, and said the cost to equip all nine Attleboro schools would likely be around $700,000.

"It’s going to be quite expensive," Heroux said.

The system would detect gunshots in a school, pinpointing their location and even the gun type, all while notifying police within seconds.

"It would have sensors throughout the school," Heroux said. "It would be able to detect what floor a shot is happening in, it would also be able to detect what caliber weapon is being used.”

Heroux showed Boston 25 News a video of a demonstration done recently in New Hampshire, with the idea to cut down on the response time in the event of a school shooting.

"More security is always a good thing," Josh Didick, an Attleboro parent, said. "I mean, going with a new high school, and $700,000 is a lot of money, but like I said, security is always a good thing.”

The mayor is working with Attleboro Police and school officials, who he says agree it would be an important step in strengthening security.

"I think everyone knows how often child die in school shootings," Heroux said. "It’s still a very low probability event. Is it going to happen here in Attleboro? Probably not, but we want to have this technology in place just in case it does.”

Heroux pointed out the reported 96 shootings last year across the nation, and said he feels more precautions are needed locally.

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Heroux said the gunshot detection system was created by a company called Eagl Technology, and said it could be moved to the new high school

The next step is to get details from the company, and then present them to the Attleboro Municipal Council sometime in the spring.