WILLIAMSTON, S.C. (WSPA) – More than 50 million Americans own firearms, according to the Williamston Police Department. Officers are encouraging responsible gun ownership by giving out free gun locks.
Gunlocks are just one way to keep your firearm safe and secure.
Officers told 7News that storing guns when they are not in use is the number one way to help prevent accidents.
“We’ve had a few accidental discharges where people are not handling them correctly, cleaning them and accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting themselves in the leg,” said Officer Whitney Crawford.
While the decision to keep a firearm in the home for self protection is a personal choice, Crawford said accidents can happen when children find firearms that adults thought were hidden.
“I dispatched for Greenville County EMS for years before I came to the police department,” said Crawford. “There were a few that I could remember where there were accidental discharges in children or from older children who were handling firearms and were not taught safely to firearms and accidentally shot themselves or another child.”