A company that sells bulletproof backpacks has seen an uptick in sales following the tragic shooting in Newton, Conn., according to reports.
Amendment II’s Ballistic Backpack offers built-in protection sewn into the back of the company’s bookbags, which offer a shield against bullets.
“The backpack can be quickly brought to the front as a shield or can serve as center of mass protection while fleeing the scene of the shooting,” the company’s website advertises.
The company has received more orders than it can fill, according to a report from The Orlando Sentinel, which noted the company’s website has crashed over a dozen times due to unusually high traffic in the days following the Newton tragedy.
“The armor is just in the back panel,” Rich Brand a product development officer of the Utah-based company told Houston’s KPRC. “The concept came up as things happened in schools. Children need protection as well.”
FOX13 in Utah found mixed reactions among parents.
“I’d rather have an administrator or a teacher be armed and trained to handle situations like that if they were to occur,” Laron Zaugg told FOX13. “But having a child always having to think about that and be prepared for that every day as they get ready for school would be way over the top.”
The president of the Houston Police Officers Union said that the backpack is not the magic solution to potential school shootings.
“It’s an overreaction,” Ray Hunt told KPRC. “It’s horrible. I don’t believe any of those children — if they had this type of backpack at that school would have been saved.”
The company says it is not looking to profit from tragedy. According to FOX13, the backpacks have been available for over a year.