Ramsey County leaders remind residents: ‘Safe gun storage saves lives'

Yahoo

22-05-2025

While growing up in rural Minnesota, Ramsey County commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh had a classmate die by suicide at age 13. In college, she knew a student who was asked to leave school because he was struggling — and then took his life.
'Unfortunately, moments after returning home, he accessed a family gun,' she said.
For those struggling with suicidal ideation, creating distance and time between them and a weapon is critical, said Jebens-Singh, who joined other county leaders Wednesday at Shoreview Library to remind residents who have firearms in their homes of the message: 'Safe gun storage saves lives.'
'Gun locks are not just a tool for gun safety,' she said. 'They are a lifesaving step that provides precious time that can make all the difference. Those moments can give a caregiver time to check on the children in the back room, or an individual in crisis time to reach out for help and rethink their options.'
Ramsey County began its Gun Safety Initiative in 2016 as a partnership between the attorney's office, sheriff's office and public health, with the goal of educating families about the importance of safe gun storage by providing access to free gun locks at libraries, community centers and other sites across the county. Nearly 10,000 gun locks have been given out.
With kids about to be spending more time at home while on summer break, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said, now is a critical time to speak out about how 'we can prevent the tragedies that occur around gun violence in our community.'
Choi noted last week's case in St. Anthony, when a 3-year-old boy was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head after he reportedly got hold of a gun inside a car and accidentally discharged it.
The boy's condition is improving and 'it looks as though he is going to survive,' St. Anthony Police Chief Jeff Spiess said Wednesday. 'He's been communicative, and has been sitting up.'
The child's mother was in the car when the boy got hold of a gun belonging to her friend, who was outside of the car, Spiess said. Investigators continue to review video and digital evidence, he said.
Nearly every day in the U.S. a child gains access to a loaded firearm and unintentionally shoots themself or someone else. In half of unintentional shootings by children, they shoot themselves and in more than 90 percent of the remaining cases, the victim is another child, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
Households that lock both guns and ammunition are associated with an 85% risk reduction for unintentional gun injury among children compared to those that locked neither, according to the Manhattan-based nonprofit.
'A gun lock can be the difference between life or death if a child accidentally gets hold of a gun, or if an unsecured firearm is easily accessible to a teen experiencing a mental health crisis,' said Amy Caron, director of St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health.
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health reported preliminary data showing the number of Minnesota suicides in 2024 — 813 — was the same as in 2023, ending a 20-year upward trend. It marks two years of suicides below the state high of 860 deaths in 2022.
'While these preliminary numbers show the suicides rates per 100,000 residents holding steady, the overall upward trend over the last 20 years is concerning,' Caron said.
Firearm injuries made up 51 percent of suicide deaths last year, a higher percentage than in recent years.
'These grim statistics are why gun locks and safely secured firearms are an important part of the work to prevent suicides, accidental deaths and injuries and gun violence,' Caron said.
The Gun Safety Initiative is critical in helping prevent suicides, said Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
'If you own a gun, please use a gun lock. Please use safe storage practices,' she said.
She said it is important for people to know about a law went into effect last year in Minnesota called an 'Extreme Risk Protection Order' (called 'red flag' laws in other states), which are temporary court orders that remove guns from people who are suicidal or who may hurt others.
There are two types of ERPOs: emergency and longterm. If a judicial officer grants an emergency ERPO, it goes into effect right away and lasts 14 days. A long-term ERPO, which can only be granted after a hearing, lasts between six months and one year.
Abderholden said people also need to know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which connects someone with a trained counselor 24/7 by calling or texting 988.
'We're also lucky that in Minnesota we have mobile mental health crisis teams serving all ages,' she said. 'These are tools that we can use to prevent suicide. Please use them.'
Information about pick-up sites for free gun locks can be found at bit.ly/RamseyCogunlocks.