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Gun Safety Initiative Launched in Richmond Heights
CLEVELAND – A heartbreaking trend of children and teens accidentally shooting themselves to death has prompted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio to launch an awareness and education initiative to inform the public about the importance of securing firearms and storing them safely.
As part of this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with the Richmond Heights Police Department to present an information session, “Safe Gun Storage Saves Lives,” Thursday, Sept.19, from 6-7:30 p.m., at the Richmond Heights Community Center, 27285 Highland Rd., Richmond Heights, OH 44120.
The City of Richmond Heights will host the program, but residents of all communities are invited to attend. Topics include data and trends regarding firearms-related accidents and self-imposed harm, focusing on children and teens in particular; the connection between these tragedies and unsafe firearms-storage practices; the effects that such tragedies have on both individual families and the broader public; a gun lock demonstration and distribution; and steps to help prevent firearms-related tragedies by following and encouraging safe firearms-storage practices.
The program features several speakers: U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio; firearms safety advocate Michelle Bell, the founder of M-Pac Cleveland, a local organization that aims to connect and support families affected by gun accidents and violence; MetroHealth Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator Anthony Zalewski, RN; Richmond Heights Police Chief Calvin Williams; and Richmond Heights Mayor Kim Thomas.
As part of the program, local police officers will distribute free gun locks; attendees will not need to provide any personal information to receive one. Officers will also exhibit other types of safe storage devices, demonstrate how to use them, and individually discuss safe storage options with attendees.
“When you make the choice to own a firearm, you owe it to your neighbors to do so responsibly. As a whole, our community must do a better job to ensure that we store firearms in a safe manner, where a curious child or a despondent adolescent cannot readily access them,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio.
The Safe Storage campaign’s message coincides with National Suicide Prevention Month, recognized annually each September by the National Institute of Mental Health. The number of firearm-related suicides rose nationally by 20% across the population from 2012 to 2022. The highest increases were found among younger people, according to fatal injury data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The risk of accidents also increases when firearms are easy to find and access. From 2003 to 2021, 85% of children fatally injured were located at a house or apartment, and 56% of incidents occurred in their own homes, according to the CDC report “Unintentional Firearm Injury Deaths Among Children and Adolescents Aged 0-17 Years.” More than 70% of firearms used were stored loaded, and nearly 80% of firearms were stored unlocked and easily found on a bed, under a pillow,
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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