Shooter Detection System for
Chicagoland Schools and Businesses
What Is a Shooter Detection System?
A shooter detection system detects gunfire inside a building and sends fast alerts when a shot is identified. Goldy Locks Inc installs the SDS Indoor Gunshot Sensor, a professional indoor gunshot detection solution in properties across Chicagoland.
The SDS Indoor Gunshot Sensor uses dual-mode gunshot detection. It looks for both the infrared flash and the acoustic bang of a gunshot. This helps the sensor confirm a real firearm event instead of reacting to loud noises alone. This system does not replace lockdown plans, alarms, cameras, access control, or emergency training. It strengthens them by helping your building detect gunfire faster and send clearer information when seconds matter.
A shooter detection system helps your team:
- Detect gunfire faster
- Identify where the threat may have started
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- Alert security teams or monitoring contacts quickly
- Support lockdown and emergency procedures
- Connect gunshot detection with cameras and other security tools
- Reduce reliance on someone manually identifying the sound
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Why Add a Shooter Detection System?
A shooting threat creates confusion fast. People may hear a loud noise, but not know what it was. Staff may not know where it came from. Emergency plans may be delayed while someone confirms the threat.
A real-time shooter detection system helps remove that delay.
CISA states that active shooter incidents are often unpredictable and evolve quickly, which is why preparation, communication, and response planning matter for schools, businesses, government offices, and communities.
For schools, the concern is especially clear. The K-12 School Shooting Database tracks incidents where a gun is fired, brandished with intent to harm, or a bullet hits school property; its data is used to monitor school gunfire trends from 1966 to the present. K-12 Dive reported that 2024 had 330 recorded school shooting incidents, the second-highest annual count since 1966, based on that database.
A real-time shooter detection system helps schools and businesses move faster when every second counts by identifying gunfire, reducing uncertainty, and supporting a clearer emergency response.
How the SDS Indoor Gunshot
Sensor Works
The SDS Indoor Gunshot Sensor detects gunshots using both acoustic and infrared sensing. Microphones listen for the acoustic blast of a firearm, while infrared sensors look for the muzzle flash. This sensor is greater than 99% accurate, with detection through the Alarm.com cloud in less than one second.
Key features include:
- Dual-mode acoustic and infrared detection
- Detection from up to 40 feet away
- Coverage up to 2,500 square feet per sensor
- Wall or ceiling mounting
- Power over Ethernet, also called PoE
- Alarm.com integration
- Optional cellular backup with the Alarm.com Cell Connector
- Integration with video, alarms, and other security tools
Shooter Detection System Installation in Chicagoland
Shooter detection sensors should be placed where fast detection can make the biggest difference. Goldy Locks Inc installs shooter detection systems for Chicagoland schools and commercial properties as part of a larger security plan, not as a standalone device.
Placement matters. The goal is not to cover space randomly. The goal is to protect the areas where people gather, move, work, learn, and enter the building.
Before installation, Goldy Locks can review:
- Building layout
- Floor plans
- High-traffic areas
- Public access points
- Staff-only areas
- Existing cameras
- Alarm system setup
- Access control system
- Network and PoE availability
- Monitoring needs
- Cellular backup requirements
- Emergency response procedures
A shooter detection system should connect to the tools that help people act fast: cameras, alarms, access control, monitoring, emergency communication, and door hardware.
Goldy Locks brings those pieces together with local support, professional installation, and security experience across schools, businesses, houses of worship, healthcare facilities, and commercial properties throughout Chicagoland.
Commonly Asked Questions about Shooter Detection
Can a shooter detection system work without a security panel?
Does the system work during an internet outage?
How many shooter detection sensors does a building need?
It depends on the building layout, sensor coverage goals, ceiling height, hallway length, room structure, and priority risk areas. Goldy Locks can review the property and recommend a sensor plan.