North Carolina’s largest public school district moves to step up conversations about firearms, secure storage

The numbers are startling. It’s estimated 13 million American children live in households where there is at least one firearm. Of those, 4.6 million are living in a household with at least one loaded and unlocked firearm.

The Wake County Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday evening intended to bring the conversation of safe firearm storage to the forefront.

The three-page resolution directs Wake County’s school superintendent and staff to “regularly and consistently” provide families with information and resources on the importance of secure gun storage.

Parents and guardians will also be reminded of the legal consequences when a child gains unauthorized access to an improperly stored firearm.

Increasingly school districts nationwide are using their power to promote gun safety. Wake County schools recorded 18 incidents of possession of a firearm in the last school year.

Apex Police Chief Jason Armstrong shared with the school board a story from early in his career of a 13-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself while playing with a loaded handgun on Instagram Live.

“This gun had been taken, because it wasn’t properly stored. And not only was his family forever impacted by that tragedy but think about all the little kids that watched that happen on that video and how their lives are forever impacted,” said Chief Armstrong. “We hear the big numbers, and the numbers are alarming, but it’s different when you have experienced that, and you have a name you can attach to one of those numbers.”

Many on the board and in the audience were mindful of the Wake County teenager in the Hedingham mass-shooting, who is now charged with five counts of murder. Investigators believe the weapons used in that 2022 shooting-spree were not properly secured by the parents of the then 15-year-old. That case will go to trial in 2025.

Research has shown that secure firearm storage practices are associated with up to a 32 percent reduction in the risk of self-inflicted and unintentional firearm deaths.

School officials plan to partner with community leaders and local law enforcement to implement public awareness campaigns including the North Carolina Secure All Firearms Effectively (NC S.A.F.E.) program.

That initiative recommends responsible gun owners to unload their guns when not in use, lock them up, and never be left unsecured in a car. Increasingly more guns in North Carolina are being stolen out of parked cars.

Wake County has also created a new website — WCPSS.net/safestorage — with gun safety tips including how to get a free gun lock.

Wake School Board Chairman Chris Heagarty said this will be a multi-tiered and ongoing approach to reach families.

“Together we will make a difference in safeguarding our students from these preventable, preventable tragedies.”