Acworth police offer free gun locks after 2-year-old shoots, kills self

Guns with safety locks are on display at Marietta Police Department's gun safety course, Thursday Jan. 24, 2013.

Credit: Kent D. Johnson, kdjohnson@ajc.com

Credit: Kent D. Johnson, kdjohnson@ajc.com

Guns with safety locks are on display at Marietta Police Department's gun safety course, Thursday Jan. 24, 2013.

There have been three instances in the past month where children in Georgia have suffered accidental gun deaths.

As a result, the Acworth Police Deparment announced Thursday that they are offering free gun locks to the community.

Easy access can put a child in a dangerous situation where they could potentially harm or kill themselves or others, police say.

"We partnered with [Project ChildSafe] with different things such as car seats and helmets," said Officer Yolanda Leverette, an Acworth Police Department spokesperson, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"With everything going on recently, we wanted to do something about gun safety," she added.

Last month, a 2-year-old shot and killed himself in Acworth with a gun that was left unattended on a bed.

A 2-year-old child died in Jackson Wednesday night after accidentally shooting himself in the face while his mother was putting away groceries, according to police.

In October, an 8-year-old girl died in Dallas after a handgun fell on the floor and discharged, authorities say.

"We don't have a problem here at Acworth," Officer Leverette pointed out. "We want to encourage the community of Acworth to be firearm safe."

The police department said that this is the first time they've offered free gun locks, but this is not the first time they have encouraged gun safety in their community.

Data shows that people are getting shot by toddlers on a weekly basis this year, according to a report by the Washington Post.

The Acworth Police Department could not specify what types of gun locks and how many gun locks they will be offering.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include recent cases of child deaths in Georgia related to guns.