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In 2020, there were 369 unintentional shootings by children, 142 resulting in death. This slightly increased from 2018 to 2019, which saw 313 and 309 shootings, respectively. The stories of these shootings are uniquely heartbreaking. In February 2020, a 7-year-old girl accidentally shot her 11-year-old brother with a gun found in her home. The gun was in a drawer in a locked room; however, the 7-year-old knew where the key was located. In another tragedy, in January 2021, an 18-month-old toddler found their father’s gun and accidentally shot and killed their 5-year-old sibling.

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Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States and the second-leading cause for people between the ages of ten and thirty-five. Access to firearms plays a significant role in suicide attempts. Two-thirds of all firearm deaths in the United States are suicides. Additionally, half of all suicides are carried out with a firearm. The ease with which a gun can be accessed, coupled with the lethality of the tool, creates a dangerous situation for individuals experiencing thoughts of suicide. Indeed, 90 percent of individuals who use a firearm to attempt suicide die, while only four percent of individuals who attempt suicide by means other than a firearm die. Suicide is preventable. Minimizing access to guns would significantly reduce the rate of suicide.

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I benefit from being a licensed Community Health Worker for the City of San Antonio Health Department. I can access various community partnerships within Bexar County and the City of San Antonio. I presented my program to the University Health, which runs a Community Event on the first Saturday of each month in underserved San Antonio South Side areas. I handed out Firearm locks to the community members while discussing the importance of securing firearms in the home and keeping kids away from accessing guns.

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Firearms have become the leading cause of death in children and teens in the U.S. Mass shootings across Texas and the nation have captured headlines. What we hear less frequently about are the many firearm injuries that occur because guns aren’t safely stored. The result–gun-related suicides, unintentional discharges and firearm theft.

A coalition of Bexar County organizations believe we can prevent many of these tragedies by promoting safe gun storage. That’s why Bexar County, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Be SMART for Kids, Safe Kids San Antonio, VIA and University Health are working to save lives through our partnership, GunSafety4Bexar.

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Preventing children and unauthorized users from accessing firearms is also paramount in preventing school shootings: An analysis of 145 school shootings since 1999 found that 80 percent of the firearms used were taken from the student’s home or the home of a family member or friend.7 These data indicate that easily accessible guns found in the home are a primary source of firearms used in school shootings. Safe storage measures can help reduce access to guns by children and other unauthorized users, ending many preventable shootings.