--- title: "Company Suggests Hiding Students in Fortified Boxes So School Shooters Can’t Get Them" description: "American dystopia reaches new highs, and startups reach new lows. Case in point: these in-class bulletproof sheds, where students can hide from shooters." date: "2022-07-14" modified: "2022-07-14" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hiding-students-boxes-shooters" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "gun safety" - "gun violence" - "school shootings" - "the digest" --- # Company Suggests Hiding Students in Fortified Boxes So School Shooters Can’t Get Them ![American dystopia reaches new highs, and startups reach new lows. Case in point: these in-class bulletproof sheds, where students can hide from shooters.]() *\Image: National Safety Shelters\* ## Fresh Hell As American dystopia levels reach record highs, proposed solutions reach grim new lows. Case in point, we regrettably introduce the [Hideaway Tornado Shelter and Safe Room](), made by a company called National Safety Shelters. According to a [press release](), these grayish, shed-like people boxes are apparently the "ultimate solution" to school safety, constructed from bulletproof, tornado-resistant ballistic III level steel — and your district can snag the safeguarding mods for an average of $7 per student over the course of a 14-month period. But that's not all! As per the press release, districts that have bought into this "near-absolute protection for students" have allegedly seen an increase in enrollment — and therefore revenue — since adding them to classrooms. There's some pretty depressing marketing language out there, but that might take the cake. ## Responsibility From [AI systems]() to proposed [taser drones](), this is just the latest technology-driven "solution" to school shootings. "Could schools do more to protect students from harm?" asks one of the company's [promotional videos]() for the product, implying that by purchasing the hellish safety bins, they certainly can. Gun safety, particularly in schools, is a contentious point in America. There have already been hundreds of mass shootings [in 2022 alone](), and as horrific details about the [unforgivable police response]() to the Uvalde, Texas elementary school massacre come to light, public outcry and anger continues to deepen. Though the market for shooter-deterrent technology [is booming, there's little evidence]() to show that technological band-aids actually do much to prevent these tragedies. And framing the debate, there's still the question it should be up to schools or tech at all — rather than, say, the government — to solve the problem. School safety as a general concept is unquestionably important, and it's one thing to market these things as tornado shelters. But schools probably shouldn't have to pay $7 a head for a monthly subscription to Avoiding Student Death by Assault Rifle, and it's hard to justify capitalizing on the [uniquely American problem]() of widespread mass shootings — especially when mass gun violence is likely preventable through legislation and government intervention. **More on unhinged school safety proposals:** [*Most of Company's Ethics Board Resigns in Disgust Over Taser-Wielding Drones*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()