Teri Clark never worried about a gunman committing mass murder inside her children’s school when they were young.
But the co-owner of Lincoln’s BigShots gun dealership and shooting range knows parents do today and she and her husband Jim decided they wanted to offer them an option: lightweight, bulletproof plates that fit perfectly inside a backpack.
“It’s a different world,†said Teri Clark, whose business now sells soft- or hard-shell plates that can be worn in T-shirts designed with a pocket on the chest into which the plates fit or inside a backpack. “It’s an option to maybe offer another level of protection.â€
The plates are designed by Veterans MFG, a company based in Katy, Texas, which was started by two veterans in a garage. The company got funding through Veterans Business Battle, a business pitch competition for former military members.
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BigShots is the only dealer in the Midwest that sells their products, said co-owner Jim Clark.
The company initially designed its defensive armor for law enforcement but soon found a market in school safety as well as businesses, said Veterans MFG co-owner Billy Gibbons.
After last month's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, the company was selling 70 of the backpack shields an hour, Gibbons said.
The plates and other armor are substantially lighter than traditional bulletproof vests and shields but offer the same protection, he said. The hard- and soft-sided plates sell for $150; a bulletproof clipboard — a best-seller — goes for $220.
The company recently created a bulletproof panel that fits on a school door.
“I’m a big fan of run, run, run,†Gibbons said, but if students have to hide, they can hold the backpack in front of them for protection.
Wednesday, Gibbons was in Lincoln and offered several demonstrations of the armor, which withstood rifle and handgun shots at close range.
Not everyone’s a fan of such protective devices.
School safety consultant Ken Trump, president of the Cleveland-based National School Safety Services, said such devices may offer emotional security, but not a lot of protection.
“There are a lot of ideas out there that are well-intended but they are not well-thought-out,†Trump said. “There’s a pretty good chance that while they provide emotional security blankets, they won’t provide the actual safety people hope."
The shields — and backpacks — are fairly small, and children often do not keep backpacks with them while they’re in school, he said.
School safety is important, though the majority of students will go through their lives without having to endure a school shooting, he said. And school security should be reasonable and rely on best practices.
“We have legitimate concerns about school safety, but we have a crisis of anxiety, ambiguity and uncertainty,†he said, and many of the responses to the latest shootings are a result of the latter.
The Clarks say the plates won’t be for everyone, but they should be available to those who want an added layer of protection.
“We see a need for it here,†said Morgan Hernandez, BigShots marketing manager.