October 24, 2025
RED FM News Desk
In a bizarre and startling incident in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States an artificial intelligence (AI) firearm detection system deployed at Kenwood High School erroneously identified a student’s snack as a weapon, triggering a full-scale police response.
Taki Allen, the student at the center of the incident, was sitting outside the school with friends when armed officers abruptly approached him. “At first, I didn’t comprehend what was happening,” Allen recounted. “They walked toward me brandishing guns, shouting, ‘Get on the ground!’ I was utterly stunned.”
The source of the confusion? A scrunched Doritos bag Allen had tucked into his pocket after eating. The AI system, designed to identify potential threats, misclassified the innocuous snack as a firearm. Allen was made to kneel, restrained with handcuffs, and subjected to a search, only for authorities to subsequently confirm that he possessed no weapon.
Officers then discovered the bag of chips on the floor and presented Allen with the AI-generated image that had erroneously triggered the alarm.
The incident, while alarming, underscores both the promise and limitations of AI security technology. Baltimore County high schools introduced AI-powered firearm detection systems last year, utilizing existing surveillance cameras to identify potential weapons and notify on-site safety personnel — and, if necessary, the police.
This episode illustrates the double-edged nature of emerging security technologies, while AI has the potential to revolutionize campus safety, it is not immune to false positives, which can provoke unnecessary panic and stress.
As schools increasingly integrate AI systems to enhance security, incidents like this one serve as a reminder that human oversight remains indispensable. After all, even in a world of advanced algorithms, a Doritos bag can apparently masquerade as a firearm.
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