School Shooting Fashion Sweatshirts Get Backlash

NEWTOWN, CT — A fashion company is facing backlash after it released a collection of sweatshirts that feature the names of school shooting locations along with faux bullet holes.

Bstroy recently released a collection that features sweatshirts with the names of Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Columbine and Stoneman Douglas.

Comments on Instagram posts of the collection have been overwhelmingly negative:

“Just noticed the bullet holes, why would anyone think this was a good idea?” wrote Instagram user veronica.egas.

“This is a disgusting thing to do. Turning such a huge tragedy into ‘fashion’ is not ok,” wrote j.essicax.

Designer Brick Owens said that the company was trying to make a statement on gun violence and empower survivors, according to Today.

The company released a statement about the collection:

“Sometimes life can be painfully ironic. Like the irony of dying violently in a place you considered to be a safe, controlled environment, like school. We are reminded all the time of life’s fragility, shortness and unpredictability, tet we are also reminded of its infinite potential. It is this push and pull that creates the circular motion that is the cycle of life. Nirvana is the goal we hope to reach through meditation and healthy practices that countner our destructive habits. Samsara is the cycle we must transcend to reach Nirvana.”