‘It Looked Like A Gun’: AI Error Leads Police To Handcuff US Student Eating Chips

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 23:24 IST

The school AI gun detection system wrongly flagged student's Doritos bag as a weapon.

The school acknowledged the distress caused by the false alert. (Representative Image)

An artificial intelligence (AI) security system at a Baltimore high school mistakenly flagged a student’s bag of Doritos as a gun, prompting an armed police response that left the teenager handcuffed and terrified. Taki Allen, a student at Kenwood High School, said he was sitting outside with friends when police suddenly approached him with weapons drawn.

“At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?’" Taki Allen told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Officers ordered Taki Allen to his knees, handcuffed him and searched his belongings- only to find nothing but snacks. They then showed him an image captured by the school’s new AI-powered gun detection system that had triggered the alert.

“I was just holding a Doritos bag – it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun," Taki Allen said.

AI ‘Gun Detection’ Gone Wrong

Baltimore County Public Schools began deploying the AI-based gun detection system last year, designed to monitor campus security cameras and automatically alert authorities to potential weapons. Officials said the system sends alerts to both the school administration and local police when it identifies something that could be a firearm.

In this case, the AI apparently mistook Taki Allen’s hand gesture while holding the Doritos bag for a weapon.

The school acknowledged the distress caused by the false alert, saying, “We understand how upsetting this was for the individual that was searched as well as the other students who witnessed the incident. Our counselors will provide direct support to the students who were involved in this incident and are also available to speak with any student who may need support."

Baltimore County Police confirmed the sequence of events, saying, “Officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. Once on scene, the person was searched and it was determined the subject was not in possession of any weapons."

Taki Allen’s grandfather Lamont Davis said the family is shaken by what happened.

“Nobody wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen," he said.

News world ‘It Looked Like A Gun’: AI Error Leads Police To Handcuff US Student Eating Chips

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