Sioux City police are offering free gun locks after a teenager was shot in the head and killed last week as he and several other teens played with a loaded gun. Sioux City police officer Jeremy McClure says their investigation found one of the teens had found the weapon in the house, loaded and unsecured.
McClure says many gun accidents involve kids playing with guns that were left unattended, so he says kids need to learn the dangers of firearms and gun owners need to properly lock them up. He say the police department is now offering free firearm locks to local gun owners so those firearms can be stored safely.
He says the gun locks were given to the city through a federal grant, Project Child Safe. All gun owners have to do is go to the lobby of the Sioux City police station and ask for the locks. Two per person are being given away and the people don’t have to provide any personal information. The locks use cable that is placed through an empty firearm which prevents it from being loaded or fired.
McClure says it’s up to the parents to educate their children about guns. He says it’s important that we talk about the proper handling of firearms and that they be kept out of the hands of children. In the latest incident, 16-year-old Codie Kapaun may be facing charges as an adult after she allegedly shot 16-year-old Ryan Blanchard in the head last Monday afternoon. Blanchard died on Tuesday.