As schools across the U.S. are looking at banning backpacks in the wake of the Florida shooting, students in one Netherlands school used their backpacks to thwart an attack by a knife-wielding man.

Students at the Scala College in the Netherlands’ Alphen aan den Rijn, armed with nothing but their backpacks, were seen in a video that captured the moment a man brandishing two knives lunged at them.

Video footage showed the students hurling a backpack at the man as he tried to get away, then tripped. He then turned on the students and lunged at them with his long knives as students continued to push him out toward the gate.

The dramatic footage showed the unarmed students not backing down as the attacker then faced backpacks being thrown at him as he countered with his knives before leaving.

The suspect, whom police identified as a 44-year-old man the students knew, was reportedly taken into custody and was being held pending an investigation, according to The Daily Mail.

In the U.S., many schools have taken to banning backpacks altogether or requiring only certain types of backpacks following the deadly Parkland mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed.

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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