CHAPEL HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — Multiple children have died in accidental shootings across Tennessee this year.
One of the most recent cases happened this past weekend in Nashville. The incident has Middle Tennessee police departments thinking about different ways to encourage safe firearm storage.
It's a scene that Chapel Hill police are trying to avoid. An 8-year-old boy in Nashville found a gun in an attic and accidently shot himself in the face. He later died from his injuries at a hospital.
"We were just racking our brains trying to come up with a way to make things a little safer for everybody and we decided to republicize the gun kits [we give out]," Chapel Hill police chief Andrew Kon told News 2. "It seems to be working."
Tennessee doesn't have any laws requiring guns to be stored in a certain way and owners don't legally have to lock their weapons. Communities are encouraging the practice of safe storage, especially in light of violence across the country — like the recent school shooting outside Atlanta.
Police said that a 14-year-old boy killed four people and injured several others. The Georgia shooter's father reportedly gifted him the gun used in the shooting.
"After all the things that have happened, with school shootings and things of that nature, we released on Facebook this afternoon about firearm safety kits," Kon said. "We've gotten an overwhelming interest in them."
"I've had probably five or six phone calls in the last couple hours, which is pretty surprising. Like I said, we're a small community, so that's a very good start to trying to introduce these. There's a need, clearly."
Kon said that the issue hits home as both parents and community members.
"We're also parents and we're members of the community," Kon added. "It affects us both in our private life and in our public circles."
You can pick them up at the police department and they are free.