ST. LOUIS — Backpacks hanging in the back-to-school aisle of one St. Louis office supply store feature cartoon characters and bright colors. But some have another message on their tag: "protection is in session."
The Office Depot on Lindell Avenue stocks bullet-resistant backpacks in black, teal, and hot pink with a $120 price tag.
A St. Peters firearms store is advertising bulletproof backpacks on their sign over Interstate 70.
"Sadly, it's an unfortunate thing but we have seen — I'd say especially within the last three years — more parents coming in and getting at least some soft armor in the backpack," store manager Alex Milberg said.
Milberg said within the last five years, manufacturers starting producing lighter, cheaper body armor made with polyethylene, the same material as a plastic shopping bag. This made lighter backpacks possible.
"Technology has come through to where I never dreamed of," Milberg said. "Having Level 4 armor that could stop rifle rounds, that didn't weight 8 to ten pounds a pop. I've seen it as low as 3.5 pounds now, [and it] actually even floats."
Milberg said the lower price-point protection isn't able to withstand the same force as the heavier, more expensive counterparts. Some products they carry can withstand a bullet from a pistol, but first responders still wear the heavier pieces.
It's unlikely any of the volunteers signing up for the new Neighborhood Net initiative Monday evening will wear tactical protection when they provide adult supervision at 220 of the city's most dangerous school bus stops.
Organizers behind the plan hope to have two adults at each location watching for potential problems and making sure kids load and exit the bus safely for the first week of school.
A joint effort between several groups, Better Family Life's James Clark acknowledges the volunteers put themselves at some risk, especially after two women with a similar mission were murdered on their posts in Chicago last week.
"These small, short-term risks are a way to change the narrative, change the energy and the spirit," Clark said. "Because if we don't do this now, we may kick ourselves in the future."
At Milberg's store, he said the backpacks certainly aren't their highest seller. Instead, they keep them in stock for anyone who may be interested in taking their security a step farther.
"It's [bringing] piece-of-mind more than anything," Milberg said. "It's taking proactive steps instead of reactive steps.
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