Free 5,200 Gun Locks to be Given Away Thursday

Anyone wanting a free gun lock needs to head to one of the following St. Louis metropolitan locations on Thursday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. A total of 5,200 gun locks are being made available by Project ChildSafe for giving away throughout the region, according to a Tuesday St. Louis County Police Department news release.

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Project ChildSafe is a nationwide program designed to help ensure safe and responsible firearm ownership and storage. It was developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and supported by a U.S. Department of Justice grant. The name Project ChildSafe has been adopted by this group with the permission of the NSSF. The NSSF itself is further supporting this initiative by donating gunlocks and literature, and has agreed to provide representation on the day of the event.

The premise of this program is to provide gunlocks and literature concerning gun safety and education to as many citizen gun owners as supplies allow. In this effort we hope to reduce firearm related accidents in the St. Louis Region.

To reach the public and distribute the gunlocks and literature Police Officers, citizen and hospital staff will visit high trafficked areas in their respective jurisdictions and distribute gunlocks person to person. Below are the agencies providing this wonderful service:

Law Enforcement agencies:

• Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department
• Saint Louis County Police Department
• Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
• Saint Charles County Sheriff's Department
• O'Fallon Missouri Police Department
• Alton Illinois Police Department
• Collinsville Illinois Police Department
• Creve Coeur Police Department

Hospitals:

• Children's Hospital
• Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• DePaul Hospital
• Mercy - Washington, Missouri Hospital
• Mercy - Saint John
• Cardinal Glennon Hospital
• Saint Louis University Hospital

Giveaway Locations:

* Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department

• Grand Ave. and Park Ave. (Cardinal Glennon and SLU), Saint Louis 63104
• Forest Park Way and Euclid (Children's) Saint Louis 63110
• Natural Bridge and Kingshighway, Saint Louis 63115

* Jefferson County Sheriff Department
* Jefferson County Sheriff's Offices:

• 400 First Street, Hillsboro, MO. 63050
• 34 Dillon Plaza Shopping Center, High Ridge, MO. 63049
• Windsor High School Campus Hwy 61/67 and Windsor Harbor Rd., Imperial, MO. 63052
• Jefferson College Campus, Hillsboro, MO. 63050

* Saint Charles County Sheriff's Department

• Bass Pro Shop, Bass Pro Drive, St Charles, MO 63301

* O'Fallon Missouri Police Department

• Renaud Spirit Center, 2650 Tri Sports Drive, O'Fallon Missouri, 63368
• Extreme Gun Care, 975 West Terra, O'Fallon Missouri, 63366

* Saint Louis County Police Department/Clayton Police Department

• Shop ‘N Save – 196 Mayfair Plaza, 63033
• City of Jennings Headquarters, 5445 Jennings Station Road, 63136

* Alton Police Department

• Washington Ave. and Brown St.
• Statehouse Circle (College Ave., Central Ave. and 20th St.)

* Collinsville Illinois Police Department

• Police Headquarters, 200 west Clay Street, Collinsville Illinois, 62234

The program itself is designed to be simplistic, straight forward and allows Police Officers, involved citizens and hospital staff an opportunity to interact with the public in a positive and supporting role. It also provides a unique opportunity to be proactive in the effort to reduce firearm related accidents in and out of the home.