Bullet-resistant backpacks draw criticism
NEW YORK» Companies such as Guard Dog Security, TuffyPacks and Bullet Blocker are peddling bullet-resistant backpacks for children in time for the back-to-school shopping season. But critics argue they are using tragedy as a marketing opportunity and exploiting parents’ worst fears.
Safety is high on the minds of many parents, especially after two back-toback mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, that left 31 dead.
“Times have changed,” said Yasir Sheikh, founder and president of Skyline USA, which makes Guard Dog Security products such as pepper spray and stun guns and started offering bullet-resistant backpacks called ProShield Scout for children last year. “Our product is in response
to that. It’s a sad reality.”
Sheikh said the bullet-resistant backpacks are very popular and sold out several times after the 2018 Parkland, Fla., school shooting that left 17 people dead.
Steve Naremore founded Houston-based TuffyPacks in late 2015 after his daughter, a fourth-grade teacher, told him about the frequency students being drilled on school attacks. His company produces some bullet-resistant backpacks, but the bulk of his business is in removable ballistic shields that are inserted in backpacks.
Naremore says his backpacks could be the difference between suffering “lethal vs. non-lethal” injuries.
“It acts as a defensive shield,” said Naremore, noting sales of the shields tripled in the days after the mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso last weekend that killed 22 people.
But some parents question the motives behind such companies.
“The only people enjoying it are the people selling the backpacks,” says Ponnell Scroggins of Milwaukee, a father of six children, ages 3 to 14. “They’re making plenty of money right now. And they’re doing it off something that was very unfortunate.”
TuffyPacks markets its products on its website with mass shootings in mind: “Are you and your family protected in the event of a school or workplace shooting? Be prepared for the worst situation with the industry’s best ballistic shields!”
And its backpacks don’t come cheap. TuffyPacks’ shields range from $129 to $149.
Skyline’s ProShield Scout backpacks cost $119, although it’s less than the adult version, which tops at $199.
Some also cast doubt on the backpacks’ safety and how much they can really protect children.
The research, development and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice has never conducted tests on these products or certified them.
The backpacks also don’t protect against military-style weapons, which were used in several mass shootings, including Parkland as well as Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.