On March 11, 11-year-old Alan Martinez shot and killed himself.
He and a 9-year-old friend had been playing with a gun they'd found inside his family's Norcross-area home. His mother heard the gunshot, but it was too late.
With that tragic accident and others in mind, the Gwinnett County Police Department has released a PSA video urging parents to talk to their kids about guns and gun safety -- and to take all of the necessary precautions.
“The Second Amendment affords citizens the right to keep and bear arms," Gwinnett police Chief Butch Ayers said in a statement accompanying the video. "This right comes with great responsibilities for gun owners. Guns must be kept secured and out of the reach of children and unauthorized persons. Don’t let an important right turn into a tragedy.”
Child Gun Safety from TVgwinnett on Vimeo.
Authorities specifically mentioned the Martinez incident while releasing the video, but it was just one of several in recent months in Gwinnett and across the metro Atlanta area.
Just two days after Martinez was killed, a 6-year-old Lawrenceville boy was shot in the chest during a neighborhood birthday party. He survived, and police later determined that another child had pulled the trigger. In February, a 16-year-old Gwinnett girl was arrested and charged with accidentally killing a 19-year-old friend.
Between November and January, at least five more accidental shootings involving children were reported in or near metro Atlanta.
"Don't tell kids they're too young to talk about gun safety," Gwinnett Cpl. Deon Washington said in the department's PSA. "If they don't learn correctly from you, they may learn from their friends, television and video games."
