West Tennessee man invents bulletproof desk

JACKSON, Tenn. — “After the shootings that went down in Parkland, Jon got the bright idea, which was a great idea, that something needed to be done as a first-effort to protect the kids in the schools,” Marty Kirby, Vice President of Invent New life said, referring to his business partner.

“I sat down and started working on initially what you see here,” Jon Snider, inventor of SHIELD, said. SHIELD stands for “Security Hidden in Every Desk.”

On Saturday, they tested the bulletproof desk. “We tested three different types of ammunition, two different nine millimeter caliber and a 45, two hundred thirty grain,” Snider said.

He said the tests went well. “19 rounds was fired at these two panels, and nothing passed through whoever would potentially be sitting on the other side.” On the other side of the desk, where the student would be sitting, there were only dents in the metal.

“The slide system is the unique part about this. The bottom plate slides through that as it’s mounted to the desk, and whenever you flip the top piece up, the bottom slides down,” Marty Kirby said.

He also said the desk is extremely versatile. “Once the desktop has been raised, there’s going to be a strap on the inside of it, a pin can be pulled, and the kid can pick the desktop up and walk with it and go out the door with it.”

They are marketing to colleges as well as elementary, middle, and high schools.  “It can protect anybody in any situation because it’s going to stop the bullet,” Kirby said.