Sales Of Bulletproof School Gear Skyrocket Following Deadly Florida Shooting
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) -- An armor manufacturing company in Maryland that is not only making police cars bulletproof but they're also discreetly placing armor inside schools and in school gear throughout the country.
George Tunis is the CEO of Hardwire, one of the world's leading armor manufacturing company's.
In light of recent tragedies, his business has gone from providing ballistic armor for military and Philadelphia police vehicles into what's suppose to be an innocent and safe environment, the classroom.
"After Sandy Hook, and having two kids at home at the time, we were like, 'How do we put armor in schools, so we came up with the one thing in every school there are whiteboards," Tunis said.
The sales of bulletproof backpacks and accessories skyrocketed in February.
A company called Bulletsafe says sales of its backpack inserts jumped 45 percent in the days following the massacre. The unexpected sale increase has left the company without inventory until June.
The trend of parents and students seeking bulletproof school gear is not new.
In late November 2017, a private school in Miami listed such items on their website. The Florida Christian School's supply list included winter wear, red school logo T-shirts, and ballistic panels.
George Gulla, the dean of students and head of school security at Florida Christian School, told CNN the bulletproof panels would add "another level of protection" to students of the pre-K through grade 12 school "in the event of an active shooter."
The school has never had a shooting incident.
"The teachers are trained to instruct the students to use their backpacks as a shield to protect themselves," Gulla told CNN in an email.
The cost of the panels is $120.
Gulla also said showing teachers how to use the panels is just a part of the overall safety training he gives them.
The company's website cautions that no material is ever 100 percent bulletproof.
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