Through Maria Spiller
October 26, 2025
“I was just holding a Doritos bag – it had two hands and one finger in it, and they said it looked like a gun,” student Taki Allen said.
A Baltimore high school student says he was terrified after police officers approached him with guns drawn when an artificial intelligence (AI) system wrongly identified his bag of Doritos as a firearm. Taki Allen, a Kenwood High School student, was sitting outside the school with friends on Oct. 20 when police suddenly arrived, responding to what they believed was a report of an armed individual.
“At first I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking towards me with guns and saying, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?’” Allen told the media. reported Through The Guardian.
Allen said the officers handcuffed and searched him before realizing he was unarmed. Later, they showed him the image that triggered the AI system’s warning. “I was just holding a Doritos bag – there were two hands and one finger in it, and they said it looked like a gun,” he said.
The incident stemmed from Baltimore County’s use of an AI-powered surveillance system that scans school security footage for what it interprets as weapons. The system pinged Allen. When the software identifies a potential threat, it automatically sends an alert to school personnel and law enforcement agencies.
In a letter to families, school officials acknowledged the distress caused by the event. “We understand how disturbing this was for the person who was searched, as well as the other students who witnessed the incident,” the letter said about the Allen situation.
“Our counselors will provide direct support to the students involved in this incident and are also available to speak to any student who may need support.”
The Baltimore County Police Department confirmed the false alarm, stating that “officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious individual with a weapon. Once on scene, the individual [Taki Allen] was searched and it was determined that the suspect was not in possession of any weapons.”
Taki Allen’s grandfather, Lamont Davis, said he was shocked by the encounter. “No one wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen,” he told the media.
The incident has revived concerns about the reliability of AI surveillance in schools and the potential for false alerts to escalate into dangerous situations.
RELATED CONTENT: IBM Senior Engineer Says AI Enables Systemic Racism
#Student #handcuffed #Baltimore #High #Schools #security #system #mistakes #Doritos #bag #gun