Bulletproof backpacks a consideration for new Arizona school year

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Something for parents to consider for back-to-school: bulletproof backpacks.

Kevin Quinn, president of the Arizona School Resource Officer Association, has never seen one.

He says they’re indistinguishable from regular backpacks.

“I haven’t heard any of them actually having been in use during an actual school shooting or anything like that,” he said.

Quinn says schoolchildren must be wearing the bulletproof backpacks to be of any use and with their backs toward the shooter.

“If it’s hanging on a hook in the back of a classroom, when the kids are sitting at their desks, obviously, they won’t work,” he said.

“You can’t expect the kids to be wearing the backpack all day, every day, in class.”

Companies also produce ballistic notebooks and white boards.

“There is a lot of these types of products out there obviously companies are marketing to scared parents,” Quinn said.

Quinn adds bulletproof backpacks are mainly sold online for hundreds of dollars each.

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