Gun locks handed out before students return to Michigan school where girl was shot

Gun locks prevent a person from pulling the trigger of a gun

March 6, 2000
Web posted at: 11:02 p.m. EST (0402 GMT)

In this story: Supply of locks quickly exhausted Critic: Locks are Band-Aid solution to violence Alleged shooter wanted to scare Kayla RELATED STORIES, SITES

MOUNT MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- Free gun locks handed out by police in the nearby town of Flint became a hot item after a 6-year-old boy allegedly shot another first-grader to death last week.

Uneasy parents held their children close Monday as the youngsters returned to Buell Elementary School for the first time since the shooting death of Kayla Rolland.

"If one kid could do that, all of them can get a hold of a gun," said one worried parent.

VIDEO As some police departments offer free gun locks, CNN's Ed Garsten looks at the effectiveness of the devices. Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Keeping schools safe

Dropping her son off for kindergarten Monday morning, Tajuan Burns said the child wasn't frightened.

"I talked to him and told him everything would be OK. I just put my faith in God," she said.

Genniva Coleman said her 10-year-old grandson "didn't want to go because he was scared. I told him it couldn't happen again."

But Laura Simons, who is circulating a petition to place metal detectors, security cameras and more teacher's aides in the school, said earlier that she will teach her 8-year-old son at home, at least for now.

"If I send my kid to school, how do I know it's not going to happen again?" said Simons.

Some adults in Flint took steps over the weekend to help make sure that even if a child did get hold of a gun, no one would get hurt.

They lined up at the police department that was offering free gun locks to make it harder for children to fire weapons. The supply of 200 locks quickly ran out.

"Right now, I'm a little disappointed because I'm only going to get one. But it's better than none," said one concerned gun owner.

In Wayne County, Michigan, where Detroit is located, the sheriff's department has offered free gun locks for eight years.

Sheriff Robert Ficano said that while there aren't any figures to cite, he is sure the locks do save lives.

"We've had a number of anecdotal type stories of parents or relatives saying, 'Yes, it may not necessarily have been my child, but a neighbor's child came in and they found the gun and they were playing with it, but it had a trigger lock so it didn't discharge,'" recounted the sheriff.

But Clementine Barfield, who founded a group called Save our Sons and Daughters after her 16-year-old son was shot and killed 13 years ago, considers trigger locks just a Band-Aid to the problem of violence.

The Flint, Michigan, police department gave out 200 free gun locks to promote gun safety

"Gun locks are not going to preserve the majority of lives. We have got to start dealing with root causes. Start dealing with first, why so many people want to hurt one another, and then why it is that we allow so many guns in our society," said Barfield, who speaks to schoolchildren about violence.

Guns are not hard for thousands of children to find. According to a report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 10,000 times each year a child picks up and fires a loaded gun, resulting in some 800 deaths.

Police admit trigger locks may not be the only solution to gun-based violence. But they say that as a way to slow the violence down, locks are right on target.

No charges are expected against the boy who allegedly shot Kayla. An adult in the house where the boy was staying has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly leaving the gun used in the shooting easily accessible.

Authorities said Monday that the investigation has found that the boy suspected in the shooting talked to his 8-year-old brother about the gun on the way to school that day.

"We believe no one else knew," Police Chief Eric King said, adding that it was not clear if the older brother actually saw the gun.

The 6-year-old told police that Kayla had slapped him on the arm and that he was thinking about it the night before the shooting, so he decided to take the gun to school, King said.

"He said he did it to scare her," King said.

Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michigan first-grader fatally shot by classmate
February 29, 2000
House may include gun lock quality standards in juvenile crime bill
June 8, 1999

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