The recent mass shooting of 17 children in Florida has spiked the sales of bulletproof schoolbags. According to Newshub, company Bullet Blocker sold 500 bags on Thursday – an increase of 30 percent.
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The military-grade backpacks can cost up to US$500. Owner Joe Curran told an Australian news outlet that the majority were headed to Florida.
The bags are lined with Kevlar – the material used in bulletproof vests – and weigh a little over two kilograms. The company said the BulletBlocker NIJ IIIA bag is capable of stopping .357 and .44 Magnum rounds, 9mm bullets and .45-caliber hollow-point ammo.
Bulletproof whiteboards and clipboards are also being marketed to schools.
Bullet Blocker said the former U.S. Army Ranger, sheriff’s deputy and firearms instructor, Curran, invented the bags “to protect his two school-aged children after witnessing the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre.”
The company also offer a range of high-end items, including a Gucci diaper bag and jacket both costing over US$3,000 as well as a Hermes bag priced upwards of US$5,000 and an Armani suit with a US$6,000 tag.
The products of a second company, Guard Dog, were tested with a .40-caliber handgun, a 9mm pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun. The armor stopped the handgun rounds and shotgun pellets from completely penetrating the backpacks, according to a WFTV report.
However, the backpacks were unable to stop a full-metal jacket bullet fired from an AR-15, the assault weapon used in the shooting incident.
Yasir Sheikh, president of Guard Dog Security, said: “A few years ago, people would kind of frown at bulletproof backpacks, but people have accepted the idea.”
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland was allegedly attacked by 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz, who faces 17 counts of premeditated murder. The accused was held without bail after his first court appearance.
The attack is the eighth deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The United States – which makes up 5 percent of the global population – owns between 35-50 percent of civilian-owned guns.