The bags, which appear like traditional backpacks, come with one or two Kevlar panels, making it bulletproof on one or two sides.
In an article published by the Israeli business magazine Calcalist, the founder of the company, Ret. IDF Col. Gabi Siboni said a single-panel bag provides coverage from neck to knee and a double-paneled backpack provides coverage for both sides of the torso.
The backpack comes with a computer compartment for a 15-inch laptop and side pockets. It weighs between 1.4 kilograms and 2.2, depending on the number of Kevlar panels. The bag is available in five colors.
Siboni founded ArmorMe after the Las Vegas massacre of 2017, in which a man unleashed a barrage of gunfire from a hotel room onto an outdoor music festival, in what is now one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. He started developing the bags in early 2018, around the time of the Parkland school shooting in Florida, which killed 17 people.
“We didn't create the reality of mass shootings, but we are reacting to it,” Siboni told Calcalist.
He said the company is in the final stages of a partnership with a school safety non-profit organization and he hopes the proceeds from each backpack will go to the organization.
There have been at least 288 school shootings in the United States in the last 10 years, since January 1, 2009.