Ramsey County leaders remind residents: ‘Safe gun storage saves lives’

While growing up in rural Minnesota Ramsey County Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh had a classmate die by suicide at age In college she knew a participant who was questioned to leave school because he was struggling and then took his life Unfortunately moments after returning home he accessed a family gun she disclosed For those struggling with suicidal ideation creating distance and time between them and a weapon is critical declared Jebens-Singh who joined other county leaders Wednesday at Shoreview Library to remind residents who have firearms in their homes of the message Safe gun storage saves lives Gun locks are not just a tool for gun safety she explained They are a lifesaving step that provides precious time that can make all the difference Those moments can give a caregiver time to check on the children in the back room or an individual in predicament time to reach out for help and rethink their options Ramsey County began its Gun Safety Initiative in as a partnership between the county attorney s office sheriff s office and inhabitants robustness with the goal of educating families about the importance of safe gun storage by providing access to free gun locks at libraries society centers and other sites across the county Nearly gun locks have been given out With kids about to be spending more time at home while on summer break Ramsey County Attorney John Choi declared now is a critical time to speak out about how we can prevent the tragedies that occur around gun violence in our neighborhood Choi noted last week s circumstance in St Anthony when a -year-old boy was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head after he reportedly got hold of a gun inside a car and accidentally discharged it The boy s condition is improving and it looks as though he is going to survive St Anthony Police Chief Jeff Spiess revealed Wednesday He s been communicative and has been sitting up The child s mother was in the car when the boy got hold of a gun belonging to her friend who was outside of the car Spiess noted Investigators continue to review video and digital evidence he announced Grim statistics Nearly every day in the U S a child gains access to a loaded firearm and unintentionally shoots themself or someone else In half of unintentional shootings by children they shoot themselves and in more than percent of the remaining cases the victim is another child according to Everytown for Gun Safety Households that lock both guns and ammunition are associated with an hazard reduction for unintentional gun injury among children compared to those that locked neither according to the Manhattan N Y -based nonprofit A gun lock can be the difference between life or death if a child accidentally gets hold of a gun or if an unsecured firearm is easily accessible to a teen experiencing a mental strength dilemma noted Amy Caron director of St Paul-Ramsey County Inhabitants Wellbeing Last week the Minnesota Department of Fitness informed preliminary details showing the number of Minnesota suicides in was the same as in ending a -year upward trend It marks two years of suicides below the state high of deaths in While these preliminary numbers show the suicides rates per residents holding steady the overall upward trend over the last years is concerning Caron explained Ramsey County Sheriff s Office Cmdr Jeremy Bolen shows how a gun lock is used during a news conference at Shoreview Library on May Nick Ferraro Pioneer Press Firearm injuries made up percent of suicide deaths last year a higher percentage than in fresh years These grim statistics are why gun locks and safely secured firearms are an fundamental part of the work to prevent suicides accidental deaths and injuries and gun violence Caron mentioned The Gun Safety Initiative is critical in helping prevent suicides reported Sue Abderholden executive director of NAMI Minnesota National Alliance on Mental Illness If you own a gun please use a gun lock Please use safe storage practices she mentioned She noted it is key for people to know about a law went into effect last year in Minnesota called an Extreme Danger Protection Order called red flag laws in other states which are temporary court orders that remove guns from people who are suicidal or who may hurt others There are two types of ERPOs exigency and long-term If a judicial officer grants an emergency ERPO it goes into effect right away and lasts days A long-term ERPO which can only be granted after a hearing lasts between six months and one year Abderholden declared people also need to know about the Suicide Problem Lifeline which connects someone with a trained counselor by calling or texting We re also lucky that in Minnesota we have mobile mental vitality predicament teams serving all ages she mentioned These are tools that we can use to prevent suicide Please use them FYI Information about pick-up sites for free gun locks can be exposed at bit ly RamseyCogunlocks