Here is what to do to keep families safe from accidental shootings

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Firearms are one of the leading causes of death among children aged 1 to 17, according to a Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions report. Sunny Vespico Jackson, a registered nurse and the injury prevention coordinator at Penn Medicine Trauma Center, cares for patients impacted by gun violence and works to underscore preventative measures.

In the hospital’s trauma unit, Vespico Jackson and her colleagues see cases that range from gunshot injuries on the skin to fatal wounds to the body.

“A lot of the injuries are life altering whether it’s because of the physical injury, but definitely because of the emotional injury and the psychological effects of the injury,” Vespico Jackson said.

Penn Medicine Trauma Center is working to educate the public on gun safes as a preventative measure to curb gun violence, and to encourage keeping firearms locked and out of reach of children. Vespico Jackson believes it is also important to teach children and teens about firearm safety and responsible storage.

Penn Medicine Trauma Center makes gun safety resources available on its website, which emphasizes proper gun storage and handling.

“Parents don’t realize the kids know where the guns are,” Vespico Jackson said in an interview with WHYY News. “So if the guns are locked up, it prevents them from accessing the guns and getting injured or injuring someone else.”

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database shows that approximately 3,500 children died in gun-related incidents in 2022, and firearms remain the top cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. to date.

Terrence Betsill, security operations manager at Penn Medicine, noted that many of the accidental shootings among young children happen in homes where firearms are not safely stored.

“73% of children know where guns are stored in the home, while 36% have actually touched the gun. The ideal way to store a firearm is to unload it, lock it and separate it from ammunition,” Betsill said.

Black Americans are 10 times more likely to experience nonfatal firearm injuries compared to their white counterparts, according to researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tracy Duckery of Mount Airy does not take the statistics lightly. The single mother of three is a city social worker and a gun owner.

She purchased a firearm to protect her family amid concerns about rising crime, but felt the need to store it in a safe.

“You want it to be safe in your home if you have kids, elderly people or other family members,” Duckery said. “You want to protect yourself from people on the outside, but you also want to protect the inside.”

Duckery, who received firearm training, understands the risks guns pose in homes with children, which is why she recognizes the importance of proper storage.

“My fear started to be bigger than protecting my home,” she said. “[It’s] thinking about my smaller kids. I had smaller kids, and I also have adult kids.”

Dukery supports the teaching of the Penn gun safety program, and she underscores the need for accountability and open conversations about firearm security.

“I’m just glad this program exists. I hope it continues,” Duckery said.

With funding from the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, Penn Medicine launched the gun safety initiative on National Injury Prevention Day on Nov. 18. As part of the program, Jackson said they hope to distribute more than 1,200 free gun safes to Philadelphia gun owners who live in the city limits.

Gun owners don’t have to come to UPenn to get a gun safe in person. They can visit the university’s website to sign up, and a gun safe will be shipped out to the gun owner.