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Shop Class Skills vs. Mass Shooters: High School Student Invents Clever Classroom Security Device

Justin Rivard's "JustinKase" has made his entire school district a little safer

By Rain Noe - February 27, 2018

In a time when our leaders are not devising intelligent solutions to keep students safe from shootings, the students themselves are stepping up. Justin Rivard, a senior at Somerset High School in Wisconsin, can't prevent an armed maniac from pulling up to a school with bad intentions. But his invention can prevent them from entering a classroom.

Rivard used his skills in shop class to devise a simple, compact object, made from bar stock and steel plate, that can be used to quickly render a door impassable. Look at how it works:

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As stated in the video, after seeing the device Rivard's school district ordered 94 units in total, covering every classroom for the elementary, junior high and high schools.

It's not a cure-all, of course; a shooter might time a rampage for when he knows students will be in the hallway, and the Parkland shooter deviously pulled the fire alarm in order to provide himself with ample targets. But at least Rivard is trying to do something to mitigate the problem. That's more than I can say for our so-called leaders. Amidst their lack of worakable solutions, hopefully more smart students will step up and figure out what else needs to be done.

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Shop Class Skills vs. Mass Shooters: High School Student Invents Clever Classroom Security Device

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Dan Olken

2 years ago

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I applaud his desire to solve a problem through design and make his own version while also learning new skills in the shop. I just don't think it's right for the news station to credit him as the inventor. Devices like this already exist.
https://www.bilco.com/Store/ProductDetailPage/1DSI-1/Barracuda_Intruder_Defense_System_-_Model_DSI

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Jonas Eriksson

2 years ago

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Why don't you have locks on the doors? Here in Sweden it is quite rare with doors with no locks.

And why make it so complicated?
Just drill a hole in the ground behind the door and have a solid dowel pin nearby.
Or use a security hasp?

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Jeff Bianco

2 years ago

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On the other hand I applaud Justin for attacking the problem given the real restraints of the world we live in.

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Jeff Bianco

2 years ago

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Unfortunately, this is a good example of designing a solution without stepping back and questioning the premise of the problem. The obvious answer is the much simpler solution is to outlaw automatic weapons, it’s just we’re too uncivilized to have already realized it.

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- Rain Noe
  
  Jeff Bianco
  
  2 years ago
  
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  Jeff, estimates for how many AR-15s--and that's just one type of assault rifle--are in U.S. circulation range from 5 million to 15 million. How do you propose to get those back?
  
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  - Donald Jones
    
    Rain Noe
    
    2 years ago
    
    Z
    
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    50K tax levy, if you don't turn the weapon in.
    
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  - Arnold Rudge
    
    Rain Noe
    
    2 years ago
    
    Z
    
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    Oh like Australia got rid of most guns successfully.
    Even in the shithole country I live in (according to Trump), we got rid of 95% of guns, only 22 caliber guns are allowed, and YES criminals have assult rifles here and its a VERY violent country. Yet we decided to prohibit ownership of gun 2 times in mandatory public polls. Because back in the days most people used them to kill cheating husbands and wives (not for protection).
    
    By the way ,the black-market rifles sold here cost like 20,000 usd (4 years minimum wages in our currency), so it's major criminals protecting their drug turf not teenagers still going to school that make that kind of investment.
    
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- Brad Johnson
  
  Jeff Bianco
  
  2 years ago
  
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  I don't think you stepped far enough back. You only stepped back far enough to see the method. Following this path, we should probably also outlaw vehicles, computers, gasoline or anything flammable, matches, lighters, knives, swords, fertilizer, pipes, pesticides (actually, we really should outlaw those), and on and on and on...
  
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  - Arnold Rudge
    
    Brad Johnson
    
    2 years ago
    
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    Following this path, we should probably also outlaw.....
    vehicles(not designed for killing),
    computers(not designed for killing),
    gasoline(not designed for killing)
    or anything flammable(mostly not designed for killing), matches(not for killing),
    lighters(not for killing),
    knives (Mostly not designed for killing),
    swords(sure why not ban this, who the f. needs a sword in 2018?),
    fertilizers(ammonium nitrate, is harder to buy than a gun, lots of paperwork involved and background checks ),
    pipes(also not designed for killing),
    pesticides(not designed for killing humans, and its already illegal in most places that guns are still legal)
    
    really bad argument slippery slope
    
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  - Brad Johnson
    
    Brad Johnson
    
    2 years ago
    
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    vehicles (not designed for killing... but have been used time and time again for this purpose. The Bastille Day attack in Nice, or more recently the attack in Manhattan)
    Computers (not designed for killing... but have the ability to wage war and cause mass destruction...or is cyber terrorism not a thing anymore?)
    gasoline/flammables (not designed for killing, but has been used many times to commit mass murder in Australia where guns are banned)
    Knives/swords (not used for killing or used in 2018... ask other countries in Asia and Europe where it is harder to get guns)
    Pesticides (not designed for killing humans...but used for this purpose in the past, and most recently in the middle east)
    
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  - Arnold Rudge
    
    Brad Johnson
    
    2 years ago
    
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    I agree those are MISS USES OF THE INTENDED ITEMS.
    Here is the the point which you seemed to miss.
    ASSULTING (killing ) IS THE INTENDED USE OF AN ASSULT RIFLE!
    
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  - Dave Eyvazzadeh
    
    Brad Johnson
    
    2 years ago
    
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    This argument is based upon the pretense that all those other potentially deadly items are equally deadly to what we have dubbed "assault style weapons." Assault weapons are weapons of war.
    They are created to enact maximum casualty in the most efficient, reliable and compact package. They are in fact amazingly designed machines. But they have no place in society.
    
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Arnold Rudge

2 years ago

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If i knew the doors could be blocked, cus as a student in a school that has them, you would see these JUSTINCASE devices in your class room, I would just fire at ppl during a dance or while they are in the hall. im sure the side effect would be having kids being locked out of the class in the hallway like sitting ducks getting shot while begging to be allowed into a classroom. These are premeditated crimes.

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Andrew Moore

2 years ago

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I recognize that there are relative risks to consider (e.g. active shooter versus fire), but I believe that technically, the installation of this device violates the building code. Is anyone aware of a loophole that makes devices like this legal, perhaps in a temporary installation?

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Donald Jones

2 years ago

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I say issue them all blindfolds and the NRA should pay for it.

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Rain Noe

I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.