ACWORTH, Ga. — As the nation grapples with a series of mass shootings, one man said he has a way to help protect children in school: a bookshelf.
Pete Facchini is the CEO of Protected Solutions in Acworth and has helped create a subtle way to deal with what seems to be an increasing problem.
"All of these mass shootings, the significant loss of life is because he gains access to the room," said Facchini.
Facchini helped create a bookshelf that can keep shooters out of the classroom and protect children inside. The former Army Ranger and father of three said it took years for them to develop the right barrier and that finally came to fruition in 2020.
"My children go to school in Cherokee county, my wife is a teacher in Cobb County, so I have a vested interest for my family alone," said Facchini.
The bookshelves blend into the classroom which he said is crucial.
"We didn't want a kid to sit in the classroom and look at something every day and say 'that's in case of an active shooter,'" he explained.
He added that they can be used as real shelves. But along the back and sides, there's a layer of Kevlar.
"It has ballistic protection that keeps people from shooting through it and the big thing is, it prevents anyone from gaining access to the room," Facchini said about the bookshelf.
Facchini says once a lockdown happens or an alert goes out, it would only take a teacher or a couple of students a few seconds to pull the shelf out from the wall, line it up up and lock it into place.
And it's not just schools that can use the shelves, stores can have them in their stockrooms and some churches and synagogues have also reached out about purchasing the bookshelf.
Facchini said it may not solve the overall issue but it's another layer of safety to consider.
"We could've saved those kids and we have to stop thinking it's not gonna happen to us," said Facchini.
He said right now these bookshelves are already being used in schools in New Jersey, but he hopes to place them in districts in Georgia and across the nation.