The manufacturer of a children's backpack designed to stop bullets says sales have skyrocketed in wake of the Newtown massacre. But are some parents overreacting? KPRC's Courtney Zavala reports.
By Brady McCombs and Brian Skoloff, The Associated Press
When Ken Larson's 1-year-old son starts school in a few years, he'll be carrying an armored backpack.
After the Connecticut school shooting, Larson and his wife have decided to buy him one just to be safe. Larson already owns one himself that he takes with him when he goes to the movies.
"It's a no brainer. My son's life is invaluable," said Larson, 41, of Denver. "If I can get him a backpack for $200 that makes him safer, I don't even have to think about that."
The reaction to the deadly Connecticut school shooting can be seen at gun stores and self-defense retailers across the nation, with anxious parents buying armored backpacks for children and firearms enthusiasts stocking up on semi-automatic rifles in anticipation of tighter gun control measures.
A spike in gun sales is common after a mass shooting, but the latest rampage has generated record sales in some states, particularly of assault weapons similar to the AR-15 rifle the gunman used Friday in an attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Colorado set a single-day record for gun background check requests the day after the shootings, while Nevada saw more checks in the two days that followed than any other weekend this year. Records were also set in Tennessee, California and Virginia, among others.
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Some gun shop owners stopped selling the remaining stock of their assault weapons, anticipating only more interest and value after President Barack Obama on Wednesday instructed his administration to create concrete proposals to reduce gun violence.
Robert Akers, a Rapid City, S.D., gun seller who specializes in military-style weapons, said the rush of customers had transformed his Rapid Fire Firearms store into a "madhouse" and that he's not actively selling the guns and has turned off his phone.
"The price is only going to go up higher," he said.
There was also an unusual increase in sales for armored backpacks designed to shield children caught in shootings, according to three companies that make them.
The armor inserts fit into the back panel of a child's backpack, and sell for up to $400, depending on the retailer. ?The armor is designed to stop bullets from handguns, not assault weapons like the one used in the shooting at the Newtown, Conn., school.
Still, the manufacturers and some parents say that while they don't guarantee children won't be killed, they could be useful as shields.
Some experts, however, say sending children to school in armored backpacks is not a healthy response to fear about mass shootings. Anne Marie Albano, psychiatry director at Columbia University's Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, said parents should convey calmness, not anxiety.
"This is not serving to keep children safe," she said. "This is serving to increase their fear and their suspicion of their peers."
At Amendment II in Salt Lake City, sales of its children's backpacks and armored inserts have increased, with 200 purchase requests Wednesday alone.
"The incident last week highlights the need to protect our children," said co-owner Derek Williams. "We didn't get in this business to do this. But the fact is that our armor can help children just as it can help soldiers."
Gene Blevins / Reuters
Customers view semi automatic guns on display at a gun shop in Los Angeles, California December 19, 2012.
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The company's inserts, made of carbon nanotube, add about 10 ounces of weight to the backpack, Williams told NBC News. And he?added that the vests would likely stop a round from a .44 Magnum pistol.
?Most armor is guaranteed to stop the calibers that it?s rated against, and there are very specific tests the armor undergoes,? Williams told NBC News.? ?But there?s no such thing as bulletproof, no matter how strong or hard the armor is. It can be bullet resistant, but any armor can fail given the right circumstance.??
?Kerry Clark, president of Texas-based Backpackshield.com, began making armored backpacks after the deadly mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. Clark said he sold 15 backpacks Wednesday. Prior to Friday's shooting, he said, the company would sometimes go an entire month and just sell one.
"It's the busiest I've seen it in my life," he said. According to its website, his company makes its armor from DuPont Kevlar.
Bullet Blocker, a Massachusetts-based company that sells backpack armor, declined to provide sales numbers but noted that recent sales were substantially greater than normal.
Sales of assault weapons also were on the rise.
Austin Cook, general manager of Hoover Tactical Firearms in suburban Birmingham, Ala., said the spike in sales since Friday's shootings has been so intense that federal background checks that typically take five minutes or less are now taking up to an hour.
Cook said about 50 people were waiting in line for his store to open the morning after the shootings, and that he's since sold nearly all of his assault weapons. Now, he's trying to find more distributors.
"I can't keep them in the store," Cook said.
In Pittsburgh, Dick's Sporting Goods said it was suspending sales of modern rifles nationwide because of the shooting. The company also said it's removing all guns from display at its store closest to Newtown.
Aaron Byrd, co-owner of Patriot Shooting Sports in Youngsville, N.C., is sold out of AR-15 rifles, ammo for those types of guns and high-capacity magazines.
"Things have been crazy the past couple of days. A lot of people have been coming in looking to purchase semiautomatic rifles. They're worried that the government's going to ban semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, so they've been coming in looking for those," he said.
He added, "I think it is a knee-jerk reaction by both parties ? both the government and the citizens."?
NBC News' Andrew Mach contributed to this report.
A gun shop in Oregon is offering free firearms training to teachers and school staff. KNDU's Tracci Dial reports.
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