A Pennsylvania middle school graduating class received bulletproof backpack plates as a graduation gift as they head to high school next year. The eighth-grade students at St. Cornelius in Chadds Ford, Pa were gifted with “ballistic shields” as a donation from a local company.
“I never thought I’d need this,” an eighth grader said to Fox 29.
Thanks to a potentially life saving donation from military equipment company, Unequal Technologies, the 15 seniors moving on from St. Cornelius will all receive ballistic shields built to stop bullets from the most powerful handguns in the world, according to UT CEO, Rob Vito, who personally delivered 40 SafeShields to the Chadds Ford school on Tuesday, June 5.
In the SafeShield, 25 faculty members will also receive a 10-by-12 inch, 20-ounce plate designed to fit into a backpack. The device, was, of course, created to come in handy as a means of combating against an attack by a mass shooter looking to target a vulnerable student body in the way teens in Parkland, Fla. and Santa Fe, Texas have been attacked over the past several months.
Principal Barbara Rosini was reportedly inspired to solicit a few of the handy shields during a recent school safety conference. Her idea was met by a mixed reaction from parents, with some applauding her thoughtfulness and others criticizing the timing of the handout.