Instead Of Guns, Ohio Schools Get Pepper-Spray Cans

COLUMBIANA, OH — An Ohio school district will arm schools with, essentially,high-tech pepper spray canisters to fight possible shooters in the coming school year.

The Columbiana Exempted Village School District has decided to put "Threat Extinguishers" in schools, a tactical grade device that shoots chemicals up to 30 feet. The large pepper spray canisters, roughly the size of a fire extinguisher, will be setup at different points around the school.

Each canister will be placed inside a glass cabinet. When the glass is broken, it automatically sends an alert to law enforcement, according to WMFJ. Each device cost approximately $25,000.

"When the can is removed from the cabinet, it can send up to a thousand text message and emails, plus calls authorities and then gives the location of which threat extinguisher has been removed. So when authorities roll up, they know where they need to be in the building," Sam Fasone of Threat Extinguisher told WMFJ.

On the Threat Extinguisher blog, the company said it wanted to change the national debate from "guns or no guns" to "guns or a non-lethal system." In December, the company met with the Ohio School Board Association and was met with intrigue and interest in the Threat Extinguisher system. Members felt this could be an alternative to arming teachers with guns.

"And many board members, many of whom had been classroom teachers, shared with us that many teachers don’t want to carry guns and worry about potential issues with their use including what if a teacher is overpowered by a student. Threat Extinguisher can be another layer to the security in schools," the company said on its website.

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Photo by Tom Sperduto/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images