BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Police are reminding gun owners about the importance of keeping firearms way from visitors, especially children, after a 13-year-old was accused of fatally shooting an 8-year-old relative in what appears to have been an accident.
If you are planning on having people over, making sure your gun is somehow locked up is important. Kids can become curious and if the firearm is not hidden and locked, it could turn into a dangerous situation.
Another easy way to prevent any accidents is keeping the ammunition and gun in separate locations in your home; both locked up. Officials also encourage parents to make guests aware they have guns locked up in the home for safety reasons.
In general, if your home is not childproof and you plan to have children at your home during the holidays, keep other dangerous objects like knives out of reach and sight.
"We don't want to tempt, the big thing children are curious, they like to look at things. And as much as they might be told don't touch, curiosity comes into play. So if we just don't tempt them, they don't have access to them and we just made it much safer hopefully eliminating a potential tragedy," Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said.
The following gun stores in northwest Ohio offer gun education classes:
- Clelands offers a youth firearms safety class that teaches general gun safety knowledge. This class meets based on demand and is usually offered quarterly, but can be customized for just one or two kids. To sign up, call or stop by Clelands. The class cost is $40 and any child under the age of 18 is welcome to attend.
- Towers Armory does not offer child safety classes, but they have CCW classes, which includes how to safely store guns but those are only available for people age 21 and up.