Back-to-school accessory: Bulletproof backpacks

The latest back-to-school accessory is bulletproof backpacks. They cost about $200 each, but have been flying off the shelves across the country after the recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton. Sales are also strong in Spokane. "

Section:Gallery

Tue., Aug. 13, 2019

This Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 photo shows bulletproof backpacks that for sale at an Office Depot store in Evanston, Ill.. With the rise of mass shooting, companies like Guard Dog Security, TuffyPacks and Bulletblocker are creating bullet-resistant backpacks for children for the back-to-school shopping season. Many say they’re seeing an increase in sales in their products leading up to the fall, and typically see a spike in sales after a mass shooting.

Teresa Crawford Associated Press
This Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 photo shows bulletproof backpacks that for sale at an Office Depot store in Evanston, Ill.. With the rise of mass shooting, companies like Guard Dog Security, TuffyPacks and Bulletblocker are creating bullet-resistant backpacks for children for the back-to-school shopping season. Many say they’re seeing an increase in sales in their products leading up to the fall, and typically see a spike in sales after a mass shooting.

Teresa Crawford Ap
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, handles one of his bulletproof panels that can be inserted into various makes and sizes of backpacks before a shooting demonstration of the stopping ability of the product at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston. His company produces some bullet-resistant backpacks but the bulk of his business is in removable ballistic shields that are inserted in backpacks.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, points out the impact points on a bulletproof panel retrieved from a backpack after absorbing nine rounds of 180 grain .40 S&W from his Glock handgun, after a demonstration of the stopping ability of the product at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, fires nine rounds of 180 grain .40 S&W from his Glock handgun into a backpack seven yards away containing one of his bulletproof inserts, made of layers of Aramid fiber ballistic material providing level IIIA handgun only protection, during a demonstration of the stopping ability of the product at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, in Houston. Safety is high on the minds of many parents, especially after two back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio that left multiple people dead.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, disassembles one of his bulletproof panels to retrieve the nine flattened rounds of 180 grains .40 S&W that he fired from his Glock handgun that were absorbed between the layers of the Aramid fiber ballistic material that make up the level IIIA handgun-only protection of the shields during a demonstration at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, in Houston. His company produces some bullet-resistant backpacks but the bulk of his business is in removable ballistic shields that are inserted in backpacks.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, disassembles one of his bulletproof inserts to retrieve the nine flattened rounds of 180 grains .40 S&W that he fired from his Glock handgun that were absorbed between the layers of the Aramid fiber ballistic material that make up the level IIIA handgun-only protection of the shields during a demonstration at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston. Naremore says his backpacks could be the difference between suffering "lethal versus non lethal" injuries.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, disassembles one of his bulletproof panels to retrieve the nine flattened rounds of 180 grains .40 S&W that he fired from his Glock handgun that were absorbed between the layers of the Aramid fiber ballistic material that make up the level IIIA handgun-only protection of the panels during a demonstration at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, disassembles one of his bulletproof inserts to retrieve the nine flattened rounds of 180 grains .40 S&W that he fired from his Glock handgun that were absorbed between the layers of the Aramid fiber ballistic material that make up the level IIIA handgun-only protection of the panels during a demonstration at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, in Houston. Naremore says his backpacks could be the difference between suffering "lethal versus non lethal" injuries.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
Steve Naremore, founder and CEO of TuffyPacks, retrieves his bulletproof insert from a backpack after absorbing nine rounds of 180 grain .40 S&W from his Glock handgun, after a demonstration of the stopping ability of the product at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston. Naremore says his backpacks could be the difference between suffering "lethal versus non lethal" injuries.

Michael Wyke Associated Press
A TuffyPack bulletproof insert that can be placed into various makes and sizes of backpacks is displayed before a shooting demonstration at the Shiloh Shooting Range, Friday, August 9, 2019, in Houston. Steve Naremore who founded Houston-based TuffyPacks notes that his backpacks could be the difference between suffering “lethal versus non lethal” injuries.

Michael Wyke Associated Press