MANSFIELD — Gerald Skrumbellos knows the toll firearms can have in the hands of children.
A friend’s brother died from an accidental gunshot wound around age 13.
So when he stopped by the hospital and was offered a free handgun lock box, he decided to take it.
OhioHealth hospitals across the state have been distributing free lockboxes this month in an effort to combat gun violence, said senior media and public relations consultant Katie Lowe.
Firearms surpassed motor vehicle accidents in 2019 as the leading cause of death in Americans ages 1 to 17. It remained the leading cause of death through 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
Skrumbellos said the lockbox will come in handy soon. He plans to purchase a home in the country and wants a firearm for self-defense — but the most important thing to keep safe is the grandchildren who frequently visit.
OhioHealth’s Mansfield Hospital gave away 50 lockboxes Thursday afternoon. They were gone in about 90 minutes.
Wendy Gunder, a registered nurse and injury prevention coordinator at OhioHealth, helped distribute them at a table in the lobby. Most of the people who took a lockbox told her they had children at home.
One woman took a box to give her adult grandson, who has littls of his own. Another man has gun storage at home, but wanted a box for his upcoming camping trip.
Maggie Cervinski said she’d like to see more lockbox giveaways in the community. Gun storage, especially the safes and lockers required for larger firearms, can be pricey.
“My son, he recently purchased a lock box. However, they had to save up the money to purchase that lock box,” she said.
Cervinski took a box for when her grandchildren come to visit.
“My fiance does have guns in the home, but he uses them for personal protection,” she said. “We love our grandchildren, but we also love our protection.”
Gun-related deaths among children are on the rise
Alexander Chapman said he doesn’t think firearms are bad, but they need to be used consciously and respectfully.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.
Chapman, a trauma surgeon and father of two, has operated on a couple of children with firearm-related injuries during his time at OhioHealth Mansfield.
“Death from gun violence is preventable,” he said. “We have to do something about keeping our guns more safe and keeping our children more safe.”
Both federal and state data indicate that gun-related deaths among children are on the rise.
The Health Policy Institute of Ohio found the rate of firearm-related deaths in children 17 and younger more than doubled from 2007 to 2022.
Meanwhile, a report from Johns Hopkins found between 2013 and 2022, the gun death rate among children 1 to 17-years-old increased 106 percent, with an average of 7 deaths per day.
Most of those deaths — 7 in 10 — occurred among teens ages 15 to 17.
What does the data say about safe gun storage?
An estimated one in three children in the U.S. live in a house with at least one firearm, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Safe gun storage is one of the chief recommendations of Agree to Agree, a nationwide campaign focused on finding common ground and preventing gun violence and injuries to children.
Researchers and public health agencies recommend storing firearms locked and unloaded, storing guns and ammunition separately and keeping keys and lock combinations away from children.
Nationwide Children’s found that when a child accidentally shoots another child, it typically occurs in the child’s home or a friend’s home with a firearm that wasn’t securely stored.
Meanwhile, researchers have also found states with strong child access prevention laws have lower rates of suicides and homicides committed by children.
(There are 26 states with safe storage laws on the books. Ohio isn’t one of them.)
Child firearm-related deaths are highly preventable
That’s how many Ohio children died from firearms between 2018 and 2022, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Of those 315 premature deaths, 44 percent were suicides and 13 percent were accidents.
Just over half of the decedents were between 15 and 17 years old.
In at least 60 percent of accidents and 49 percent of suicides, the firearms were known to have belonged to a caregiver or other family member.
In its child fatality review, the Ohio Department of Health found at least 86 percent of child firearm deaths were preventable.
Its recommendations to prevent child firearm deaths included:
- Securing firearms at home
- Distributing free gun locks
- Increased domestic violence support for mothers and their children,
- Fully integrating mental health support into school-based health centers
- Reducing and eliminating school bullying
- Preventing children from becoming associated with gangs
- Early identification of depression in youth
- Increasing access to positive mentorship for youth
- Strengthening education and support for families of suicidal children.
