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Rockdale County sheriff's office educates public on gun safety
The effort is in response to a string of accidental shootings involving children. Rockdale County deputies took to social media to promote gun safety.
ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - With the recent spike in accidental shootings among children and adolescents, law enforcement officers said it is clear people need to do a better job securing their weapons. The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office is taking that message to social media.
In the first week of February, a 9-year-old boy accidentally shot his 7-year-old friend after finding a loaded weapon under the front seat of a car while the mother was inside a Snellville restaurant getting food. Days later in Griffin, a 4-year-old boy was shot and remains in the hospital. Police are still trying to determine exactly how he was wounded but charged his mother with reckless conduct and child cruelty.
"It starts in the home with the parents. Parents have to educate their children about the dangers of guns, said Rockdale County Deputy Jedidia Canty. The deputy created a new public service announcement and posted it on their Facebook and Instagram pages, noting the rise in injuries and death from accidental gunfire among, children, adolescents, and teens.
"They don't have the education. They just don't know that guns can kill or permanently injure someone,"
She said a lot of accidental shootings happen because children are desensitized to how powerful guns can be and haven't been told how quickly things can take a dangerous turn.
"Because of the video games or even the movies that they watch, it's not real, and I think a lot of children don't know the reality of a gun and what it can do in the wrong hands," Canty said Monday.
According to national gun safety experts, most of the victims of unintentional shootings are young boys who are usually shot by a friend or relative--especially a brother. Approximately 40 percent of unintentional shooting deaths among 11- to 14-year-olds occur in the home of a friend.
Canty said gun locks and lockboxes should be used for every gun in the home and in the car if you travel with children.
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