Baltimore County student handcuffed after AI gun-detection alert

A 16-year-old student at Kenwood High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, was handcuffed and searched by armed officers on Monday evening after an artificial intelligence gun-detection system mistakenly flagged his empty bag of chips as a possible firearm, school and law enforcement officials said. The student, identified as Taki Allen, was detained outside the school following football practice and later released when officers determined he was not armed.

According to school officials, the district uses an AI system that analyzes footage from existing campus security cameras to detect objects resembling weapons. The system generated an alert that was reviewed and then canceled by the school safety team, but the school resource officer nevertheless contacted local police. Baltimore County Police said officers responded to a report of a suspicious person with a weapon and, after a search, determined the individual was unarmed.

Allen described a heavy police response. "They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me," he said. He told authorities he had been holding a bag of Doritos and later placed the empty bag on the ground. Videos from the scene and...