Massacre Prompts Bulletproof Vest Range

A Colombian manufacturer of bulletproof vests launches a line of clothing and backpacks for US schoolchildren.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

World

Topics

South America, United States

People

Adam Lanza

Places

United States of America, Colombia, Connecticut, Newtown

Transcript

This factory in Colombia makes bulletproof vests and clothing. Now it says it's created a new line in child-size protection in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in the U.S. Company boss Miguel Caballero says they've come up with a range of clothes and backpacks specifically for U.S. schoolchildren. SOUNDBITE: MIGUEL CABALLERO, PRESIDENT OF MIGUEL CABALLERO COMPANY, SAYING (Spanish): "We first had to break the mental paradigm which was to try to make a product for kids between eight and 16 years old, to show we know about this and could do it. Before going ahead we consulted with paediatricians. We had to run field tests and ballistics tests in the laboratory, to see what would happen to a child receiving an impact. We had to evaluate all this before starting the project." Last month's shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, was the second deadliest of its kind in the U.S. Twenty children and six adults were killed by gunman Adam Lanza. Lanza, who had also shot his own mother before heading to the school, took his own life.