Artificial intelligence has played a role in preventing at least two potential school shootings, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a recent interview.
Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity on May 5, Patel said the technology helped authorities respond more quickly to threats.
“We stopped a school massacre in North Carolina because we got a tip and we were able to triage it with artificial intelligence,” Patel said, the Independent reported.
He added that a separate case in New York was also disrupted with the help of AI.
“We stopped a school shooting in New York because we got a tip from our private sector partners who are building our AI infrastructure,” Patel said, per the Independent.
Patel said the FBI is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to manage the large volume of information it receives.
“If we had just humans look at it, we would never sift through them all,” he said, noting the technology is now used broadly across the agency, including at the National Threat Operations Center.
According to the FBI, AI tools can assist with tasks such as recognizing vehicles, identifying languages in voice samples, and converting speech into text, allowing investigators to process data more quickly and identify potential threats.
Patel said the agency had not previously used artificial intelligence in this way.
“AI was never used at the FBI until we got there,” he said, adding, “I’m using it everywhere,” Audacy reported.
The use of AI comes as school shootings have increased in recent years. Data from the K-12 Shooting Database shows more than 100 incidents have been reported annually since 2018, with totals exceeding 300 per year between 2022 and 2024. Last year, there were 235 reported school shootings, and 69 so far this year.
Despite its potential, officials acknowledge limitations and risks associated with the technology. An incident cited in a recent report involved an AI-powered application incorrectly reporting a shooting at an elementary school in Missouri, causing alarm in the community.
The FBI emphasizes that human oversight remains essential.
“A human being is ultimately accountable for the actions taken, not an AI,” the agency said on its website, adding that trained personnel review AI-generated information before any action is taken.
Patel said expanding access to advanced tools remains a priority as the agency works to address evolving threats.
