Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, where a deadly shooting took place last Wednesday, did not have metal detectors due to some administrators’ concerns about racism, the New York Post reported.

“I knew this day was gonna happen,” Fran Bush, a former Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) board member, told the New York Post. “I knew it was gonna happen just because it’s like a free open door, everybody coming in.”

The shooting, which left 16-year-old student Josselin Corea Escalante and the suspect dead, has parents calling for the school to bring in metal detectors after the AI security system failed to detect the 17-year-old gunman’s weapon.

The Metro Nashville Police Department said a shooting incident is under investigation at Antioch High School. Three people have been wounded, including the suspect, who shot himself. (X/ @MNPDNashville)

“Every day I told her how much I loved her,” German Corea, the father of Escalante, told WTVF. “It’s not fair.” 

Escalante’s aunt also told WTVF that the 16-year-old was a “very calm girl and well-behaved.”

In February 2023, the MNPS board greenlit a $1 million contract with AI gun detection system Omnilert, which is set to end on Nov. 30, 2025, local outlet WKRN reported. On its website, the AI company claims that the system can identify gun threats and send “human-verified intelligence” to first responders. However, last Wednesday, the system failed to pick up on the 17-year-old suspect’s weapon.

“AI visual gun detection is a new and promising way to get advance warning before an incident occurs, allowing preventative action to take place. This is particularly so since most gun violence begins outdoors and often in full view of previously unmonitored security cameras. In the Metro Nashville case, unfortunately, the gun was only brandished in the bathroom, where there are no cameras, and then for 30 seconds in the cafeteria where the gun was not visible to the camera, neither to human eyes nor to AI,” Omnilert CEO Dave Fraser told Fox News Digital.

“We’re saddened that this tragic incident occurred despite the various security methods in place, and it serves to remind us of the value of our mission and to redouble our efforts to have monitoring on every available camera. Remarks that the AI system ‘failed’ are misleading to say the least and may serve only to decrease the safety of children and staff in our schools.”

MNPS has yet to respond to a Fox News request for comment.