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The school year in the United States has started differently that year. The sale of bulletproof backpacks increased exponentially after the recent mass shootings of El Paso, Ohio and Chicago with peaks of up to 300% more acquisitions for some manufacturers in the weeks prior to the start of the school year, due to a scenario that full of fear to parents, students and teachers. Meanwhile, the amount of weapons in the hands of civilians is already greater than the population of the country, and the few government measures to prevent attacks do not satisfy the vast majority.
About 40% of parents in the United States say they are "very worried" about a school shooting at their children, according to a recent Morning Consult survey commissioned by NBC News. And almost half of the parents say they would buy a bulletproof backpack for their son.
"Noah (10 years old) is afraid of going to school and I, too, as a mom, with everything that is going on. I bought her the bulletproof backpack, yes. It is not a guaranteed solution but at the end of the day if something happened it could be protected " said Nataly P., an American mother at Sunset Park Elementary in Miami, consulted by EL MUNDO.
Other parents, although also frightened by the situation, assured the media that they would not buy those backpacks because they only protect from bullets with small guns . "They do not guarantee protection for assault rifles, which are typically used in school shootings," said Amber P., mother of two school-age children in Miami. "It is sad that these companies benefit from something so tragic and make parents think that these backpacks or shirts will protect their children," he added.
Jessica L., also a Miami mother, said: "I would not buy those backpacks for many reasons, but I would say that in a situation like that you do not want your son to try to manage or look for a backpack. You want him to hide or run! "
Are these backpacks effective?
The prices of these bulletproof wallets range from 160 to 300 dollars (from 140 to 270 euros), although some are made in China for 99 (about 90 euros). Although on the outside they are like any other backpack, with drawings or smooth, inside they have ballistic panels on the back. Most include an indicative explaining that the product was tested with 9 mm bullets and shotguns. However, this information should be taken with tweezers.
Several of the backpacks claim to comply with the standards of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) corresponding to level IIIA. This means that they would withstand the impact of a 9mm handgun and a 44 Magnum. But the government agency has not certified or proved the residence of any backpack in the market so far, according to Kelly Laco, spokesman for the Department of Justice, consulted by the press.
The only products that have been certified in this category are bulletproof vests. "The announcements of these products that claim they were tested or certified by the NIJ are false," said the official. He referred not only to the backpacks, but also to the wide variety of personal protection products against shootings that are being marketed, ranging from bulletproof inner shirts and protective vests, to adult folders in the form of shields.
Another point to consider is one of the mothers indicated earlier: most of the killers who opened fire in schools have used AR-15 or AK-47 rifles, such as the one used by the Texas killer in the massacre in the 22 people died last August 3. Apparently, these backpacks are not ready for that at all.
" These backpacks would not, under any circumstances, withstand assault rifles that are so often used in school shooting," said former New York Police Department commissioner William Bratton in an interview with CNBC.
However, Bratton says that if the backpack provides psychological relief to the parents as a way to protect the child and if they can also pay the price, it could be a positive thing. "But you have to be careful when raising the fear level of children ."
Joe Curran, founder of the backpack brand Bullet Blocker, defended his backpacks created thanks to his experience as an Army ranger, police and weapons instructor, but warned consumers that these ballistic protection elements are no longer useful after five years. They could be expired if they spent a lot of time in a warehouse before being sold, he told CNBC television.
Action protocols before a shooting
Other experts do not recommend the use of these products and ensure that it is best to educate children in the protocols for action in case of shooting, which includes running, hiding or evacuating the school quickly.
"This is pure marketing to exploit fear," Matthew J. Mayer, a professor specializing in violence prevention at Rutgers University schools, told the Washington Post . "We have no evidence that these things work. They are giving children and parents a false idea of security."
Meanwhile, civilian Americans are increasingly armed and the amount of deadly artifacts they own exceeds the number of inhabitants of the country. According to a study by the Small Arms Survey, some 330 million people live in the United States but there are 393 million weapons in the hands of civilians. Americans own almost half of all weapons in the world bought by civilians, 40% of the 857 million weapons, according to the study.
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