Lockdown

Oscar Belgal, 28, a Dominican Republic native shot by federal immigration officers in New York on Oct. 8, made his first appearance before an immigration judge Thursday via video livestream from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where his lawyers say he is held in solitary confinement. He said little during the brief hearing and still needs surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his neck.

Belgal's lawyers say ICE officers, masked and in plain clothes, confronted him while he searched for parking after picking up his 5-year-old son from school, then fired into his car as he tried to drive away without identifying themselves. DHS says officers opened fire believing their lives were in danger after Belgal rammed two government vehicles. Released NYPD footage doesn't conclusively resolve the dispute. Legal Aid Society attorney Karene Brown said ICE has not honored requests to move Belgal out of solitary confinement. His next hearing is Oct. 29, and lawyers have filed a federal petition seeking his release.

Schools in Seminole County, Florida, are piloting CENTEGIX's CrisisAlert system, a wearable panic-button technology designed to speed emergency response on campus. Choices in Learning Elementary Charter School recently ran a code red drill to demonstrate the system, which lets staff trigger an alert or lockdown from anywhere on campus by pressing a badge multiple times.

Once activated, the alarm sets off a visual strobe indicator, automatically notifies law enforcement, and gives authorized responders access to the badge's GPS location and nearby security cameras. CENTEGIX says its technology is already used across nearly 400 school districts nationwide, protecting an estimated 53% of public schools and more than 1.5 million students. School leaders in Seminole County say they hope the pilot leads to full implementation, citing the importance of rapid response during medical emergencies or active-shooter situations.