NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A survivor of the deadly Antioch High School shooting is taking legal action against the companies behind the campus’s artificial intelligence gun detection system, saying the technology promised to protect students but failed on the day gunfire shattered lives.
Antonyous Henin, 18, came to the United States from Egypt in search of safety, stability and opportunity. That hope dissolved on Jan. 22, 2025, when gunfire erupted in the school’s cafeteria — killing fellow student Josselin “Dayana” Corea Escalante and leaving Henin seriously injured.
“I looked at him, and I saw him shooting,” Henin recalled in an interview with NewsChannel 5. “The first shot injured me — it crossed from here to here. I ran. Everybody was running in the school. I didn’t know where I could hide, what I should do, or who I should call.”
Henin’s arm injury is healing over time, but he said the emotional scars remain. “Until right now, the emotional pain still hurts. It’s not over,” he said.
Months before the shooting, Metro Nashville Public Schools had introduced an AI detection system designed to spot a firearm within seconds before a shot was fired and alert police. Henin and his attorney, Bishoy Fam, claim that promise was broken.
“They sold that system as the only system that would save your life — promising it would work with no warning that it might fail,” Fam said.
The lawsuit names Omnilert, the maker of the detection technology, and Systems Integrations Inc., the company accused of installing it. It alleges the technology failed to detect the weapon used in the shooting and that Omnilert later altered its website, removing phrases like “save lives” and softening claims about reliability.
“Just after the shooting, they already changed their wording,” Fam said. “I hope this case sets a precedent that AI detection companies do not just promise everything in the world and, when it fails, act as though AI will always work as promised.”
The lawsuit accuses the companies of defective design, failure to warn, misrepresentation, negligence and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. It seeks compensation for Henin, with the amount to be decided at trial, and calls for triple damages against Omnilert under the Consumer Protection Act, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.
“We’re doing this to try to prevent future tragedies and hold AI detection companies accountable,” Fam said.
Despite his trauma, Henin plans to continue studying computer engineering. “I have nobody to care about me,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do — but I want no other student to go through what I have endured.”
NewsChannel 5 reached out to Omnilert and Systems Integrations Inc. for comment. So far, neither has responded.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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