Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officers hand out 800 free gun locks in an attempt to save lives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officers are giving 800 gun locks away for free to relaunch a safety campaign called “Lock it or Lose it”.

Gun owners have always been able to go police headquarters to get a free gun lock, but CMPD’s chief says he and his officers are realizing there are barriers that prevent people from doing that - whether it’s transportation or feeling uncomfortable about walking into police headquarters.

So, on Wednesday officers went into the community to hand them out.

The message from CMPD to lock up your guns is simple to understand.

What’s hard to digest are these numbers from the department: due to guns, 42 children have been shot and eight of them have died this year.

Community groups like Mother’s Against Murdered Offspring and United Neighborhoods of Charlotte are helping to push this message too.

CMPD Police Chief Johnny Jennings says this gun safety campaign isn’t just about kids who have lost lives because of a gun was left out by a family member.

He adds that it’s about stopping all gun violence happening in the city right now.

“We want to reduce the number of guns that are brought to schools by our kids, the number that are stolen from vehicles and homes that are used against our youth,” said Chief Jennings.

CMPD is working to order 2,000 more gun locks. The department also noted officers also getting ready to give out small gun safes too in hopes that it will save more lives.

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