Baltimore student handcuffed after AI flags bag of Dorito chips as possible firearm, county officials call for review

An AI gun detection system in Kenwood High School, Baltimore flagged the teen's bag of chips as a possible firearm.

An empty bag of chips led to a police search at a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, after an AI system reportedly misidentified it as a possible firearm. A student of Kenwood High School was handcuffed, and the entire school was searched by armed police.

Baltimore County officials are now calling for a review of Kenwood High's AI system and why it led to a search. (Kenwood High School/X)

An AI gun detection system in Kenwood High School flagged the teen's bag of chips as a possible firearm, CNN reported. Baltimore County officials are now calling for a review of the school's AI system and why it led to a search, even though the school safety officials determined there was no weapon.

Talking to a CNN affiliate outlet WBAL, the student said that the police made him put his hands behind his back and cuffed him while he was waiting with friends for a ride back to his house.

“They searched me, and they figured out I had nothing. Then, they went over to where I was standing and found a bag of chips on the floor,” Allen said, describing the incident.

Further describing the distressing incident, Allen said that eight police cars stopped at the school. He was holding a Doritos chips packet with two hands with one finger out, which the officials said looked like a gun.

Amid the rising cases of mass shootings, schools are deploying AI tools to detect possible firearms and ensure safety.

Following the incident, County officials are now calling for a review of the process that led to a teen being handcuffed. No child in our school system should be accosted by police for eating a bag of Doritos,” Baltimore County Councilman Izzy Patoka said.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore County Police Department told WBAL that they received a report of “a suspicious person with a weapon”, but after a search, determined that the person was unarmed.

Kenwood's principal, Kate Smith, said that the security department reviews and cancelled the alert after no firearm was found.

The company that operates the AI gun detection system in school, Omnialert, expressed regret and stressed that the system is designed to flag a possible threat and elevate it to human review.