Colombia firm makes armored clothes for kids

A Colombian firm that makes bulletproof vests is now creating armored clothing for children.                     

Factory owner Miguel Caballero said he never thought about making protective clothes for kids until requests came in following the deadly attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut last month.                    

"After the tragedy in Connecticut, we started getting emails from customers asking for protected (clothing) because they were afraid to take their kids to school," Caballero said.                            
Products include child-sized armored vests, protective undershirts and backpacks with ballistic protection that can be used as shields.                       

Caballero performed a test on a pink-and-yellow striped bulletproof backpack attached to a pale blue protective vest, firing a 9mm pistol and a machine gun to show it could withstand a barrage of bullets.                    

He said the backpack-vest combo and other protective gear have already been ordered by a US distributor, although he would not identify it.                       

About 250 people work at Caballero's factory, which has been making armored vests for adults for more than 20 years. Colombia suffers from an internal conflict that has killed thousands of people over the last half-century.                        

Outside Colombia, the vests for adults are sold in some 20 countries, including Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mexico. They are also marketed in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.                         

After the Newtown shooting, at least three American companies that were already making backpacks designed to shield children reported a spike in sales.         


AP