An AI weapons detection system at a Maryland high school left one student shaken after he was grabbed by police who suspected he had gun in his pocket.
The object AI blew a gasket about was a crumpled bag of Doritos, according to WMAR-TV.
Last Monday, Taki Allen, 16, who attends Kenwood High School, was waiting for a ride with his friends after football practice. After finishing a bag of Doritos, he stuffed the bag in his pocket.
About 20 minutes later, chaos erupted.
“Police showed up, like eight cop cars, and then they all came out with guns pointed at me talking about getting on the ground. I was putting my hands up like, ‘What’s going on?’ He told me to get on my knees and arrested me and put me in cuffs,” Allen said.
“They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me. Then, they searched me, and they figured out I had nothing,” Allen said, according to WBAL-TV. “Then, they went over to where I was standing and found a bag of chips on the floor.”
Police showed Allen the image that started the armed response.
“I was just holding a Doritos bag — it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” Allen said.
Superintendent Myriam Rogers said the system worked as it should have.
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“The program is based on human verification and in this case the program did what it was supposed to do which was to signal an alert and for humans to take a look to find out if there was cause for concern in that moment,” Rogers said, per WMAR.
Allen was not on board.
“I don’t think no chip bag should be mistaken for a gun at all,” he said.
Baltimore high school student Taki Allen was swarmed by police after an artificial intelligence system apparently mistook his bag of Doritos for a gun pic.twitter.com/5haobZUUwf
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) October 24, 2025
“Nobody wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen,” said Lamont Davis, Allen’s grandfather, according to WBAL
Allen said Principal Kate Smith only addressed the problem three days after it took place, according to WMAR.
“I was expecting them to at least come up to me after the situation or the day after, but three days later that just shows like, do you really care or are you just doing it because the superintendent called me,” Allen said.
Allen did say in a statement, “We understand how upsetting this was for the individual that was searched, as well as the other students who witnessed the incident.”
Omnilert, the company that makes the system, said human verification is part of the system along with AI, according to Fox News.
“Our system operated as designed — it identified a possible threat, elevated it for human review, and relied on authorized safety personnel for final determination,” the company said.
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