SUFFOLK, Va. — Author's note: the above video is on file from August 2021.
The Suffolk Sheriff's Office is working with a gun safety group to give gunlocks away to residents who keep firearms in their homes.
On Sept. 3, the sheriff's office and Project ChildSafe will be set up at the Kroger Marketplace on University Boulevard to give people free gun safety kits.
Those kits have a cable-style gun lock and a gun safety "curriculum." The cables can fit on handguns, rifles and shotguns.
"The goal is to prevent a child or any other unauthorized person from accessing a firearm in your home," wrote Sheriff E. C. Harris.
In July, Suffolk Police said an 8-year-old accidentally shot a 12-year-old with an unattended gun.
There have been at least two other cases where young children -- under age 5 -- shot themselves in Hampton Roads this year. In June, a toddler shot himself in the foot in Newport News, and in May, a 4-year-old shot himself in Norfolk.
Project Childsafe has given away 40 million of these safety kits since 2003.
The gun safety event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.