Vests & Vital Organs?

Some Statistics. In 1992, the Center for Disease Control initiated the Firearms Surveillance Study. Their intention was to understand firearm injuries better, in that intentional gunshot wounds rank as the 15th leading cause of death in the United States. On average 50,000 people die annually in the United States for causes attributable to firearms. This includes accidents and suicide. Its significance extends from data over one year spanning non-fatal shootings from sixteen states.

Per the CDC's 1992 Study, what were the locations of non-fatal shooting injuries?

Head/Neck 14.4%
Upper Trunk 21.3%
Lower Trunk 15.8%
Arm/Hand 13.3%
Leg/Foot 32.6%
Not Reported 2.6%

Finding the location of fatal injuries is proving a little more elusive, but we're working on it. Leastwise, we can generally presume that the majority of fatal gunshot wounds are not specific to gunshot injuries to the extremities. That is not to say that this does not happen, only that a significant majority do not. Why? Vital Organs

Vital Organs. Most of us aren't doctors, but let's list some important bodily organs thta come to mind - brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, and gallbladder. We can add the spinal cord in here, too.

Center Mass. Most weapon instructors teach to aim "center mass" - which can be defined roughly as the mid-upper torso. It's the easiest target to hit, the portion of the body that moves the slowest, has the largest concentration of vital organs. Even if a shot does not kill someone who has been hit "center mass" - odds are they won't be moving quite so fast afterwards.

Vest Protection. How many of these vital organs are completely or mostly under the protective area of a bullet proof vest? All of them except for the brain and top/bottom portions of the spinal column. Bullet proof vests provide the best front and back protection for your "center mass" - and the majority of your vital organs.

That's protection against 47.1% of non-fatal bullet penetrations; and we can reasonably say the vest provides even more protection against what would otherwise be a fatal penetration. We're working on finding better statistics for this - but even this is quite noteworthy.

And if Your Child Can't Wear a Vest at School? BulletBlocker has a full line of school safety products including the original My Child's Pack providing National Institute of Justice Threat Level IIIA protection. Backpacks provide coverage to one half of your child's body by wearing it on their back. However, it can also be used as a shield against threats from the front. When you have time to react, it's nice to have something convenient at arms reach to provide near immediate protection.