The New York City Department of Education will soon send letters to parents of schoolchildren advising them on how to safely store firearms, Mayor Adams and Rep. Dan Goldman said Thursday.
Their announcement comes just days after a 12-year-old boy shot his 15-year-old cousin in Brooklyn. The 12-year old has been charged with manslaughter in the death of his cousin, Jasai Guy.
The gun belonged to Guy’s father, an FDNY firefighter, according to sources.
Goldman, who represents lower Manhattan, said the safe-gun storage information would be sent to all parents with children who attend city schools. An Adams’ administration official said the letter would go out before the end of this school year.
“We know that when firearms are properly secured, children are 85% less likely to be victims of an unintentional shooting,” Goldman said. “Our public schools can serve as the conduit for information on safe firearm storage to reach families and save lives.”
Guy’s death has rocked Brownsville’s Howard Houses, where the shooting took place. The teen was known as a talented basketball player who dreamed of playing in the NBA and, according to the mayor, becoming a lawyer.
Adams said the shotgun blast that took his life has left the family shattered.
“It’s unimaginable for any of us who have children, just getting that call,” he said. “That call is so chilling.”
Close to 350 children accidentally shoot themselves or someone else with a firearm each year, and more than 70% of those shootings take place at home, according to data provided by Goldman.
Abbey Clements, a teacher at the site of one of the worst mass shootings in American history, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, co-founded Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence in the wake of that tragedy.
Clements appeared with Goldman and Adams at City Hall on Thursday and noted that next week she’ll attend a graduation there that many of the students who died at Sandy Hook should have been alive to attend.
“This letter will no doubt save lives,” she said.
