Sales Of Bulletproof Backpacks Have Surged 200% to 300%

 (CNN) -- With every mass shooting in the United States comes renewed fear of another.

It's a fear particularly potent among parents of young children and especially now, days away from the start of the school year. It's not unwarranted -- CNN examined 10 years of shootings on K-12 campuses and found two sobering truths: School shootings are increasing, and no type of community is spared.

Instead of letting their children choose a plastic backpack covered in Hello Kitty or Spider-Man, some parents are purchasing bags that double as shields in case kids get caught in gunfire.

Companies like Guard Dog Security, Bullet Blocker and TuffyPacks designed bulletproof backpacks to quell those concerns.

The retailers said backpack sales spike during the back-to-school season, and all three said they they saw a significant uptick in the aftermath of mass shootings.

Bulletproof backpacks are a 'consumer favorite'

Joe Curran founded Bullet Blocker 12 years ago after a shooting at Virginia Tech killed 33 people.

To protect his two school-aged children, the former sheriff's deputy inserted body armor into their backpacks, he said. Classmates' parents asked for inserts for their children's bags, and it grew into a business.

The company's website calls the bulletproof backpack a "consumer favorite." Prices range from $160 to $490. Most are JanSport or High Sierra backpacks retrofitted with ballistic panels sewn into the back. The smallest offering, the "Junior Pack," is suggested for preschoolers.

Sales have increased 200% since the mass shootings last weekend, Curran said.

Yasir Sheikh, president of Guard Dog Security, said the company launched a line of bulletproof backpacks in 2013. And since 2018, they've cropped up in major retailers like Office Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond.

They're marketed as "bulletproof" or "bullet-resistant," depending on the store, but the two are synonymous, he said. The bags retail for between $119.99 and $299.99.

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