What happened

A Lockout was placed on Perry Hall High School shortly after Baltimore County Police Department notified the school's administrators of a threat of violence. No one was permitted to enter or exit the building during a Lockout.

Shortly after, the school was fully locked down after a video appeared that appeared to show a student with a gun, which was later identified as AI-generated. 

Police detained a suspect connected to the initial threat, no weapon was found, and the lockdown was lifted within about 10 minutes. 

The incident caused temporary disruption to school activities and heightened alarm among students, staff, and families. 

Why it happened

Fake videos, even of students with weapons, can be instantly and freely generated by generative AI systems. 

In this instance, a video of this nature was used to threaten and destablise a school, fortunately to little real effect.