The DeKalb County Police Department said it will give free gun locks to residents during a “safety fair” slated for this weekend.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at South DeKalb Plaza, located at 2627 Candler Road in Decatur.
“We are asking everyone who owns a firearm and needs a gun lock to please come out and get one free of charge, no questions asked,” DeKalb police Chief Mirtha Ramos said in a news release. “We just want to do our part in keeping our community safe and we look forward to seeing everyone there.”
No specifics about the gun locks being offered at the event were provided. But generally speaking, such locks can are meant to prevent guns from being fired if they get into the wrong hands — including those of children.
In recent months alone, several children from DeKalb County and elsewhere in metro Atlanta have died in accidental shootings. DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry has proposed a local ordinance mandating safe storage of firearms in part to prevent such incidents.
Saturday’s DeKalb police safety fair will also include care seat safety checks, information on how to create a neighborhood watch and meet-and-greets with department officials.
