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NYC public schools will educate students and their families about safe gun storage
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jun 6, 2024
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jun 6, 2024
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New York City’s public schools will begin tasking principals and other school leaders with educating students and their families on safe and proper gun storage.
The move comes just days after Josai Guy, 14, died after his 12-year-old cousin accidentally shot him while playing with a gun at home.
Schools Chancellor David Banks referenced the incident during a press conference on Thursday, which was also attended by Mayor Eric Adams and Rep. Dan Goldman, among others.
"What we had that happened in Brooklyn last week was not a matter of gun violence," Banks said. "We had a young man who killed his cousin accidentally because they had access to a gun that was not safely secured."
The announcement also follows other efforts New York City officials have made to curb gun violence. Mayor Eric Adams announced in March that the NYPD will test metal detectors equipped with artificial intelligence technology on the subway, and the department also released a report last month showing that it had seized more than 6,000 illegal guns between 2020 and 2021.
A letter from the Manhattan district attorney was also a driving force behind YouTube's recent decision to age-restrict or altogether remove videos that show viewers how to manufacture and sell illegal guns.
At least three other children in New York state were injured by accidental shootings at home this year alone, according to data from the organization Everytown for Gun Safety. Two children were killed and another four were injured in New York state in 2023, according to the same data.
Following news of Guy’s death, Goldman penned a letter urging Banks to take advantage of federal safe gun storage resources for schools. Thursday's announcement makes New York City one of the first U.S. municipalities to officially take advantage of those resources, which the Biden administration announced in January. New York City is home to the country's largest school system, with roughly 1 million students in 1,800 public schools.
Goldman said he believed these resources and improved education about gun safety could have helped prevent Guy’s death, adding that "the fight against gun violence has to be taken from all angles."
“I think I’m hiding something and all of a sudden I come home and my son is eating all of my candy,” Goldman said. “But I have candy there. If it were a gun there, my 6-year-old son could get a hold of that gun.”
"And so the reason why we need safe storage is that parents think very frequently that they're hiding something out of reach or out of access to their child, and they're not," he said.
Tagged
new york city
education
public safety
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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