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This School's Solution To Mass Shootings? Bulletproof Backpacks.

Some parents fear this means we’re giving up the fight against mass shootings.

Tod Perry
By Tod PerryNov 14, 2017
Tod Perry
Tod Perry is a freelance writer from Long Beach, California.
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Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, was a day just like any other in America. There was a shooting at an elementary school 120 miles north of Sacramento, California. Early reports showed that five people were dead and 10 wounded, some of them children. It was the 390th mass shooting of 2017, and it surely will not be the last before we ring in the new year.

Mass shootings have become such a part of everyday life in America that Florida Christian School in Miami is presently selling ballistic backpack panels to parents to protect their children. The panels cost $120 at the student store and can withstand bullets like a .44 Magnum and a .357 SIG, but they aren’t heavy enough to withstand rifle fire.

The bulletproof inserts are made by Applied Fiber Concepts in Hialeah, Florida.

George Gulla, head of security and dean of students at Florida Christian School, told CNN the bulletproof panels would add “another level of protection” in the event of “an active shooter.” The students at the school have been trained to shield themselves with their backpacks to protect themselves from gunfire.

“It’s just a tool,” Gulla told the Miami Herald. “I’d rather be prepared for the worst than be stuck after saying, ‘Wow, I wish we would've done that.’”

For some parents, a bulletproof backpack gives them peace of mind knowing their child might be protected in the event of a mass shooting. For others, it’s a white flag that shows America has finally stopped fighting and would rather throw armor on our children than deal with the country’s mass shooting epidemic. But for all, the advent of the bulletproof backpack is undeniable proof that we haven’t done everything in our power to keep our children safe.

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