Can A Book Bag Save a Child's Life in a School Shooting?

This is a very touchy subject. School shootings take advantage of the weakest of humans in a defenseless situation, innocent children. In any survival situation you need to leverage advantages and school children in this unfortunate scenario are no exception. This video explores the effectiveness of using a typical book bag to increase the odds of surviving this horrible situation.

reply to post by LibertysTeeth


If kids in middle and highschool are still carrying as many heavy books as I was 10 years ago then I'd say yea it could be used. My backpacj had several 3 inch books and weighed probably 30 to 40 lbs.

I think the bag I carry at college would safely catch a .50 at point blank range and ask for more, please. In a paperless future we were promised, all the paper is back breaking some days.

Now in the realm of realism? I think things like this are ignorant and dangerous. Teach kids to run, hide or fight but don't give them even the hint of hope in some ignorant and totally fantasy based concept of stopping bullets with ANYTHING. Book bag or body armor. I don't care. A CHILD doesn't need to even be thinking that way and trying to DO any of that means they're already dead if the shooter chooses that for them. He's already FAR too close and they are caught like a deer in headlights. What the hell good is a book bag going to do? Cause the shooter to die laughing?

The only good I could possibly see is the Kevlar backpacks with something like pure random shooting in mind. Like a drive-by. However, we need to then ask ourselves...are the odds of a stray bullet worth the paranoia these measures instill as a basic personality trait in the children for life? I say hell no.

Anything that can stop a bullet can obviously save your life...but most assault weapons will tear through a book pretty easily. There is a company here in Maryland making bullet proof stuff for classrooms...white boards, clip boards, backpacks, etc. The University of Maryland has purchased some of these.

Does anyone think these will work? I say yes - but there has to be some clear thinking teachers involved and students trained as with fire drills (they do these kind of drills at my kids schools)

But if you ask me the best strategy would be to evacuate and flee the school during a shooting situation. Get the kids out, through a class room exit to the outside, a window, whatever. I know that would come with its own set of problems but the idea of kids hiding and becoming sitting ducks chills my blood. And it may sound bad when talking about kids being shot - but from the shooters point of view it would be way more difficult to hit moving targets.

Nowadays, sure. One of the things in there is likely to be a laptop, and I can see that helping. Add a book to the mix, and sure, even if not stopping it, would certainly slow it down.

If they are walking to class maybe but if someone busts into a room a child more than likely will not have access and will be shot in the head,etc like at Sandy Hook. It is security that needs to be improved. Even if you are not into arming teachers or guards then secure the main entrance. One way in and one way out. Most shootings happen after school starts anyways. First line of defense is the front office.

Bottom line, no, backpack will do nothing.

There's a scene in the Last Action Hero, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger where a backpack stops a bullet from entering his chest. Still, kids won't and shouldn't have to wear backpacks in front of themselves for any reason...

What a freakin moron. Sch sht done by lone crazed gun men??? LOL ya right. Brought to you in part by your Fdrl g=v, who cares about you more than you know and who wants you to stay safe!

i'd rather give the teachers and college students the means to shoot back than hope my child will be spared because the bullet luckily struck their backpack and the shooter only shot once.

to answer your question: probably, but stopping a school shooting from occurring will save more lives.

Make schools less easy to get into rather than selling bags which will only cover a small portion of the childs torso (the back), to cover the chance that their child MIGHT get shot at.

reply to post by matafuchs

the trouble is that sandy hook had such a system. if the governme----err people like adam lanza want to cause terror to further their agendas, it will happen. *cough*gun laws*cough*

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


I know they did. A buzzer. Video. Then if someone shoots open the window they walk right in. If someone wants to they will. Bottom line but you have to add deterrent and not make it easier. At Sandy Hook he shot out the side window and was able to gain access. If there was as secondary door he could not get into, one with a button hidden at the front desk, need of a badge, etc, if he has to shoot someone to get that badge or try to find the access it is time to save more lives. The front desk in schools is the first line of defense.

Then, if there is a panic button, the door from the front is in accessible and there is another 'safe' exit for the children to leave their classrooms. Or, in a perfect world, it gives time for an armed response from 'inside' a school. You take your children to banks and malls. All sorts of places with armed guards. Why is it any different than schools?

Why is it that no-gun zones are always attacked? It is a soft target. These shooters may be unhinged but they are not all stupid. Not at all. If Lanza had not been sho..I mean, his gun jammed, he would have killed 40 or 50 more.

Make sure the bag is big enough for the kid to climb into and hide.

reply to post by matafuchs

At Sandy Hook he shot out the side window and was able to gain access.

yes he did....with a bushmaster ar-15 that never left the trunk.

perhaps sandy hook is a poor example of school security in the same way that 9/11 is a poor example of building integrity when hit by planes.

reply to post by LibertysTeeth


You do mean a Kevlar backpac with a 1/2in steel plate, don't you?
But what about the kids head or sides or front where ths backpac does not cover?
Maybe we should go back to full steel body armor.
Or maybe we should get the crazies off the streets if they need medication and not let them walk around loose.

I don't see a very realistic use for it but you could put a single kevlar plate in the bag, they are as big and thick as one large textbook and they will stop a bullet from hitting a vital organ as you run away.

Sounds pretty stupid to me, kids should carry books for class- not for catching bullets. I really don't think its realistic to believe that a book bag will save your life. I mean it could but it just sounds like one of those super corny "survivalist" pieces of advice. Someone who came up with that idea would also probably say stupid crap like how to make lethal weapons out of school supplies and how they would single-handedly take down a school shooter with their pencil.