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Gun Safety Isn't
Child's Play
On a quiet afternoon in nearby
Somerville, an eight year old boy, left unsupervised at home after
school, found his stepfather’s 9mm handgun under a couch and shot
his 9-year old stepbrother to death with it. The shooting was ruled
an accident.
With increasing numbers of people buying firearms to protect their
families and property, gun owners must take precautions to make sure
their loved ones don’t become shooting victims like the boy in
Fayette County, says Mick McCune, president of Corporate IQ
Security.
“The entire country, especially Shelby
County and the surrounding areas, have a tremendous problem of
accidents and deaths involving a child’s access to a weapon that
could have been prevented,” he says. “ It is a tragedy to lower a
child’s coffin into the ground because of negligence of an adult.”
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In 2006, 1,593 children – 17 years old
or less – died of gunshot wounds including 103 from “unintentional”
causes, according to the Center for Disease Control’s most recent
statistics. Nonfatal shootings injured 7,829 children in that age
group, including 2,130 victims of unintentional shootings – mostly
accidental.
In Shelby County. 46 people have been shot accidentally through late
August this year. The Shelby County Sheriff’s office did not have a
record of how many of those were fatal.
Education and knowledge come first when it comes to protecting
children from firearm hazards, says Shelby County Sheriff’s Lt.
Jason Pagenkopf, commander of the crime prevention bureau.
That means, whether or not you have guns in your home, teaching
children that when an accident happens with a gun it can cause
death. “You don’t just get a scratch or a boo-boo,” Lt. Pagenkopf.
The sheriff’s department presents gun safety programs to students in
Kindergarten to Grade 6. The main message: if you find a gun whether
you’re at home, in school or on the street, don’t touch it. Then,
tell an adult.
At home, if you’ve bought a firearm for
family and property protection, it must stay loaded to serve that
purpose. But, you should lock it in a safe, closet or other secure
area where it’s accessible, but only to the adult who is supposed to
use it, Lt., Pagenkopf says.
“Kids are curious. They may not be looking for a gun, they may be
looking for a lost toy. If they find a gun, they make think of it
like a game or a cartoon,” he says.
Here are some other gun safety tips for children and their parents
from the Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff and
Katheran M. Price, a prevention and safety educator.
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Remove ammunition from guns, at
least those used for sporting purposes. Place ammunition in
a locked location, separate from guns, in a secure place
that is out of sight and reach of children.
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Secure unloaded firearms with a
gun lock, gun alarm or other tamper-proof device which helps
prevent unauthorized use and tampering or renders the gun
inoperable. The sheriff’s department has locks available for
free that can be put into a gun to prevent a shell from
being put into a gun to be fired, Lt. Pagenkopf said.
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Store unloaded guns in a locked
gun cabinet, safe or locked gun vault. Place locked storage
cases where children won't be able to see or find them.
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Keep gun storage keys hidden in
a separate location from regularly used keys.
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Consider all guns to be loaded
and dangerous until you can establish whether they are or
not. If you think a gun you find is unloaded, check it again
-- the chamber as well as the magazine.
Don't carry a weapon. You could hurt or kill someone or
yourself without meaning to. The weapon could also end up
being used against you. Some kids say they carry a gun or
knife for protection, but the truth is if you carry a weapon
you are more likely to get hurt.
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