I was horrified to read in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about a 3-year-old toddler in Chesterfield County who fatally shot himself with an unsecured gun ("Chesterfield man charged after 3-year-old boy accidentally shoots, kills himself," May 2).
He was visiting a family friend. Sadly, statistics confirm that more children, from birth to age 17, are killed by guns than by any other means (i.e. disease, car wrecks). Brady, the oldest gun violence prevention organization in America, promotes June 21 as ASK Day, or "Asking Saves Kids Day."
All of us, gun owners and non-gun owners alike, have a role in preventing family fire. Family fire refers to a shooting that results from someone misusing an unsecured firearm taken from or used in the home. Unintentional shootings, firearm suicide and many intentional shootings are all forms of family fire.
Safe gun storage practices can significantly reduce fatalities among toddlers, children and youth. Gun locks and safes are easily purchased from gun stores and online. Some gun safes are small enough to house a pistol and sit on a bedside table. Biometric gun safes are sold for under $100 and can be preprogrammed to be opened only by the owner's fingerprint.
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Over these summer months, if children are not at home, they are likely to be on a play date or staying with a relative. Please remember to ask before you drop off a child: "Is there a gun in the home? If so, is it secured?" There are ways to ask that question that are not in any way offensive. For instance, "My child is inordinately curious. If you own a gun, can you make sure it is stored safely?"
Asking simple questions can help ensure that our youngest population lives and thrives.
Rev. Gay Einstein
Richmond
From the Archives: Richmond police in the 1980s
09-19-1986: Richmond police bureau's property and evidence room.
11-18-1989 (cutline): City Clerk Joseph Ivey yesterday swears in some of the 36 members of the Richmond Police Bureau who received promotions recently. One lieutenant was promoted to captain, 12 sergeants became lieutenants and 23 police officers or detectives advanced to sergeant.
06-04-1987: Richmond police.
10-03-1983 (cutline): Detective Norris L. Evans in workout room.
06-18-1981 (cutline): Richmond officer Martha R. Leas uses Emergency Phone downtown. City will disconnect yellow call boxes to save money starting July 1.
10-16-1985 (cutline): Richmond police officers line up for inspection before going out on their beats on Saturday night.
10-14-1986: Richmond police 'A Squad Division.'
07-30-1982 (cutline): Patrolman Otis McKay sits on one of three new three-wheeled Honda motorcycles put in use Monday in Richmond. The water-cooled bike is the only three-wheeled model now available in the country and can perform well for any traffic duty, said Traffic Sgt. R.C. Eades.
07-19-1983 (cutline): W.A. Brown directs traffic in Richmond.
03-04-1986 (cutline): Sgt. Albert McKoy of the forensic unit stands beside crime lab's new color photography equipment.
10-09-1983: Patrolmen Linwood G. Bennett Jr., and Janet C. Clarke.
05-25-1988: Richmond police meeting.
05-06-1987 (cutline): In Richmond, Richard Warthen and Adrianne Ballard are patrol officers.
09-19-1986 (cutline): (left to right) Linwood G. Bennett, Sgt., Chetin Basaran, PTL, Keith J. Wassmer, PTL.
01-24-1985 (cutline): A 10-by-20-foot police prefabricated structure is being prepared for occupancy by Richmond's downtown walking police officers. The ministation, at Fifth and Broad streets, was delivered Tuesday, and should be ready for an open house in about a week, said police Maj. Joseph Higgins. Walking officers will use the structure as a base where they can write reports, and the building will be manned by police officers who will aid tourists downtown, police have said.
12-08-1983 (cutline): Police Sgt. Robert C. Eades instructs Neighborhood Assistance Officer Brenda Pega in the use of a breathalyzer.
09-07-1982 (cutline): A South Richmond man held police at bay for about 30 minutes yesterday when he fired a shot into the air from the back door of his home. Police arrested the man, Leroy Campbell, and charged him with discharging a firearm with the city. Additional units were called to the scene when police saw a woman, child and another man inside the house and thought them to be hostages. Police evacuated neighbors and cleared a nearby playground before surrounding the home. When officers entered the house, they found Campbell lying in bed. Campbell was being held in the city lockup last night on $500 bond.
02-18-1984 (cutline): Major Joe Higgins (left) and Capt. Charles Bennett (right) watch as Sgt. George Stitzer, Jr., briefs the men and women of the Second Precinct.
10-30-1989 (cutline): Computer screen displays location of officers in South Richmond.
10-23-1989 (cutline): Richmond police officer Melvin Bond stands by poster urging end to crimes against blacks by blacks.
04-01-1989 (cutline): Richmond Police Chief Frank S. Duling (left), Maj. Laurel M. Miller and Maj. V. Stuart Cook inspect new police officers at Richmond Police Training Academy graduation ceremonies yesterday at the Virginia War Memorial. The academy's 61st recruit class has 14 members.
12-20-1983 (cutline): Sgt. Eades giving NAOs classroom instruction on breathalyzers.
03-17-1988 (cutline): Patricia Washington issues 100 parking tickets yesterday. She had issued about 70,000 tickets in her nearly six years with the city.
10-03-1983 (cutline): Richmond Patrolman Sherrel Smith Jr., with the Information Systems Division of Police Planning Operations, works at a computer terminal--a new tool used in crime fighting.
02-19-1984 (cutline): Patrolmen of the 2nd precinct prepare to find their cars at 8 p.m.
02-18-1984 (cutline): Patrolmen (L-R) Claude Booker and Dandridge Hawkes prepare to get into their patrol cars at 8 p.m. at the Second Precinct.
07-08-1985: Left: Acting Sgt. H. D. Caldwell, Jr. Right: W.M. Condrey patrolman and firearms instructor in Sgt's office.
07-02-1985: Richmond police at firing range. From L-R: Patrolman Cheryl Nici, W.M. L. Condrey, Gene E. Bouscher.
03-22-1989 (cutline): The interview room is the scene of some of the most criucial police work of Sgt. Norman A. Harding, Jr.
Woody served as the lead homicide detective in the Johnson/Brown and Newtowne gang probes.
03-22-1989 (cutline): Then and Now--Detective Sgt. Norman A. Harding Jr. stands beside a portrait of himself as a rookie 27 years ago.
