Creative Mom Makes Bulletproof Dress for Daughter in Kindergarten to Protect Her from School Shooter

It might be crazy to think that Texas mom Cassie Arnold crafted a bulletproof dress for her daughter to wear as protection from a potential school shooter, but this kind of preparation is now a fact of life in many schools in the U.S.

Arnold, whose middle child "trained" for lockdown drills in kindergarten last year and will be in first grade this year, shared the photo of the bulletproof dress she made on her Instagram account. She initially intended this to be a satirical creation because she believed it would be absurd to normalize "this type of environment," referring to the military-style preparations among the kids.

However, students in the U.S. are preparing to return to school this fall with increased awareness that they must be ready for a mass shooting following the massacre in Uvalde. The mother pointed out that current solutions to protect the kids are temporary and do not address the root issue of gun violence.

"My hope is that a civil conversation about guns and the safety of our children will occur as people experience this piece," she said. "The timing is intentional."

Parents too scared to send their children to school

Speaking with Yahoo Life!, Arnold said that the bulletproof dress is made of Kevlar, which is also the material in bulletproof vests.

She explained that she had dreaded mass school shootings since Sandy Hook in 2012, where a mass shooter killed 20 school children. She was pregnant with her first child then and told her partner they could not raise a baby when deranged people kill kids in schools.

Ten years later, the tragedy in Uvalde fired Arnold to come up with the bulletproof dress. She channeled her anger and fears into creating a conversation piece that she hopes will inform people about the seriousness of gun violence.

Arnold said that she had gotten inquiries about mass-producing the dress from other parents. She had to tell them that it was only a one-off meant to point out how scared parents are to send their children to school. The mother said that the public must come together to pressure lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws.

Bulletproof safety shelters in classrooms

Meanwhile, the Quitman School District in Arkansas wants to procure more bulletproof safety shelters for the classrooms. The school community is waiting for approval for a $50-million grant to buy more pods after purchasing a few in 2018, according to KARK.

Superintendent Dennis Troxler said that some kids told him they feel safer because of the pods. One teacher said that it has been comforting to know that they have this extra security measure in the classroom.

They have used the current pods for sheltering during storms, but they now need to update the security system, thus the grant. Troxler also believes that the bulletproof pods have been instrumental in the jump in enrollment for the school year.