ATLANTA — A pilot program that deploys drones to respond to school shootings is coming to two metro Atlanta high schools this fall.

Five Georgia schools were selected to participate in the Campus Guardian Angel pilot program, including Forsyth Central High School in Cumming and River Ridge High School in Woodstock.

The program uses drones designed to respond to an active shooter situation before law enforcement arrives.

“Our goal is to respond in five seconds, and then find the shooter in 15 seconds, and to then degrade or incapacitate the shooter in 60 seconds,” said Campus Guardian Angel CEO Justin Manston.

According to the company, the drones can activate strobe sirens and deploy pepper spray in an effort to stop a shooter.

“If we could use less lethal effects like pepper spray, and we could put the drones in the schools ahead of time and fly them remotely as demanded service, then it would allow us to protect any school with a very fast response time,” Manston said.

Manston said the goal of the program is to provide an immediate response during an emergency.

“We think that an instantaneous elite response is the key way to keep children safe,” he said.

The pilot program is funded through the end of the school year.

“We believe that every child in the state of Georgia deserves an education free from the fear of mass gun violence,” Manston said.

WSB Radio’s Jordan Brown contributed to this story.