HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WFMY) - The Orange County school district is implementing a new online security service to catch online threats related to school shootings.
The school district recently voted to use a tracking tool called Social Sentinel, which looks for certain keywords posted publicly.
The new service costs the district $10,000, but the Orange County Board of Education chairman, Dr. Stephen Halkiotis says it's money well spent.
"All too frequently we hear on the news just like what happened in Parkland. This guy had posted stuff on the internet. He was gonna do this, he's showing his guns stretched out on a bed and then he goes and kills 17 innocent kids and a couple of teachers. This is crazy," says Dr. Halkiotis.
The service will monitor all social media posts, even one's posted from across the country. It will provide a safer learning environment for students like Alina Shcherbakova.
"I feel comforted because watching the news lately it's, it's been kind of tragic seeing all the events with school shootings," says Shcherbakova.
Once an online threat is located, the Orange County Sheriff's Department gets notified. The goal is preventing any and all school violence.