Sales of Bulletproof Backpacks Rise 30% After Florida School Shooting

Following the tragic school shooting in Florida sales of bulletproof backpacks have risen by 30%, per The Daily Mail.

Bullet Blocker, the company that manufactures the items claims that it sold around 500 bulletproof backpacks the day after the shooting. The backpacks cost between $200 and $500.

According to the Bullet Blocker website, the Massachusetts-based company “started in 2007 by Joe Curran, a real-life father who wanted to do all that he could to protect his two school-aged children after witnessing the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre” in 2007.

“Using the knowledge he gained while training as a Ranger in the United States Army, along with his experience as a Deputy Sherriff and firearms instructor, he invented ‘My Child’s Pack’ which was the first bulletproof backpack designed specifically for students,” the company adds.

Curran told reporters that the majority of the bulletproof backpacks that were sold on Thursday were purchased by Florida residents.

Nikolas Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder the fatal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Survivors have spoken out publically, with one of the teachers who helped protect students during the shooting tellling the Today show: “I just did my job.”

While speaking to Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, Melissa Falkowski explained that she and 19 of her students hid in a small closet to stay out of sight and that some of them “were hysterical from moment one.”

She added that she was just “trying to keep them calm” and tell them that “everything is going to be OK.”

Finally, Falkowski said she wasn’t thinking about herself but that it was her “job” to make sure her students knew they were going to be safe.

Another hero of the tragic shooting was the schools coach, Aaron Feis, who shielded students from gunfire and ended up losing his life.

One student reportedly told Fox News, “He sprinted with everything he had towards it to make sure everybody was safe, and I heard that he got in front of a couple people and shielded them, and he actually took the bullets for them.”

Many people have taken to honoring the fallen hero with messages of support and sympathy on Twitter.

“Some heroes wear Gatorade towels over their shoulders. Aaron Feis sacrificed his body for his students in the Florida school shooting,” wrote one person.

Another user wrote that Feis “is the definition of an American Hero. We need more people in this crazy world like him.”