South Carolina sheriff: panic button app on teachers' phones

NEWBERRY, S.C. — A South Carolina sheriff says officials will install a panic buttons app on every teacher's cellphone in his county.

Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said when someone hits the button, it alerts police, paramedics, firefighters, school administrators and calls 911.

Foster says that can save valuable seconds, since first responders can head to the school while a 911 dispatcher gathers information.

The sheriff says Newberry County is the first in the state with the app.

Foster says the app also can pinpoint the location of any 911 call made from a school. The sheriff says that helped an administrator find an elementary school student who was calling 911 while playing with a cellphone.

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Associated Press