As school leaders struggle to comprehend the tragic March 21 shootings that left 10 people dead at Minnesota's Red Lake High School, many are asking how technology might be used to help prevent--or respond to--such violent attacks in the future.

Red Lake sophomore Jeff Weise is believed to have killed his grandfather, Daryl Lussier, 58, a sergeant in the Red Lake Police Department, and Lussier's companion, Michelle Sigana, 32, at Lussier's house before storming the school just before 3:00 p.m. and killing seven others--including a teacher and an unarmed security guard. He then took his own life after exchanging gunfire with police.

The rampage at Red Lake Indian Reservation in far northern Minnesota was the nation's worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 that left 13 people dead. It demonstrated both the limitations and potential for technology to help keep students safe.

Red Lake High School has a metal detector, but the device did little to prevent the attacks. According to news reports, Weise blasted his way through the entrance, killing security guard Derrick Brun, 28, before setting his sights on students.

As the tragedy unfolded, however, several students reportedly used cell phones to call police or family members. Police responded immediately to 911 calls, and the whole horrific incident was over in less than 10 minutes, according to reports.

"Technology can play a role" in helping keep students safe, said Kenneth S. Trump, president of Cleveland-based consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services. But it must "supplement, not substitute for" other measures.

As the Red Lake tragedy showed, metal detectors are somewhat limited in their ability to keep students from bringing weapons into the building. Part of the problem is they don't provide enough warning if a student is determined to breach them. Security cameras positioned outside the building, such as in the school parking lot, might help--and the British technology group QinetiQ has developed another potential solution.

QinetiQ, which used to be part of the research division of the British defense ministry, makes a system that reportedly can scan beneath people's clothing to spot not just metal but other potential threats, such as hidden drugs. The system relies on a technology known as Millimeter Wave, and the company says it soon could be used outside airports to scan people for explosive devices or other weapons before they even enter the terminal.

The advantage is obvious--to identify potential attackers without letting them know, gaining valuable time for security officials to prevent an attack. But is there a market for such a technology at schools?

QinetiQ did not respond to requests for an interview, but Trump believes the technology is not financially feasible for the vast majority of U.S. schools. "Look at how much money we've pumped into airport security--and we're still doing searches by hand in many places," he said. With funding for school safety and technology initiatives already being cut, he added, it's not realistic to think many schools could afford these types of systems.