This Israeli-made US$500 bulletproof bag was inspired by the Parkland massacre and sales in the US are soaring

The bag will stop 9mm pistol rounds, while a new heavy-duty version will stop rounds from rifles, like the one used in the Florida school shooting

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An employee of the Israeli protection gear manufacturer Masada Armour adjusts a new civilian bulletproof backpack, designed for schoolchildren, at the company's headquarters in Julis, Israel, on Thursday. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 2:03pm, 31 Aug 2018Updated: 9:23pm, 31 Aug 2018

An Israeli firm says it has sold US customers hundreds of its bulletproof backpacks, introduced in the wake of the Parkland school massacre.

“We designed a bulletproof backpack at the request of our distributors in the United States after the huge trauma caused by the February shooting in Florida,” Snir Koren, CEO of Masada Armour, said on Thursday.

Nikolas Cruz, 19 at the time of the attack, allegedly opened fire and killed 17 people on February 14 in his former high school in Parkland, Florida with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle.

He has said that he heard voices telling him to “burn, kill, destroy”.

Students in support of gun control protest against the National Rifle Association during a rally in Brea, California on August 4. Participants held pictures of the Parkland school shooting victims. Photo: EPA

A scene from a police video of the interrogation of Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz (right) with his brother Zachary, who police let into the room. Photo: Florida State Attorney's Office

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for him, in a trial that could begin at the end of next year.

In a matter of months protective gear manufacturer Masada Armor, based in the northern Israeli town of Julis, developed its bulletproof backpack and got it certified by the Israeli army and police.

“Since then, orders from the United States have been coming in,” Koren said.

This Israeli-made US$500 bulletproof bag was inspired by the Parkland massacre and sales in the US are soaring

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The bag will stop 9mm pistol rounds, while a new heavy-duty version will stop rounds from rifles, like the one used in the Florida school shooting

The bag will stop 9mm pistol rounds, while a new heavy-duty version will stop rounds from rifles, like the one used in the Florida school shooting