HELENA — An estimated 4.6 million kids live in a house with unlocked loaded guns which could lead to the use of a firearm that can put them - or others - in danger, intentional or not.
On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every 15 minutes, and if not stowed away properly in your home, the firearm could be stolen.
Nathan Casey, a detective with the Helena Police Department, says people should keep firearms secure.
"We would ask that people would keep their firearms locked up in their homes to keep them from being accessed by kids or somebody who might come into their home," said Casey.
With the recent incidents in Helena involving juveniles and alleged stolen firearms, Casey emphasizes the importance of having the firearms locked up.
"We've seen an uptick recently in juveniles getting access to guns. In our most two most recent instance, both juveniles had access to guns that were stolen out of vehicles or residences. So it's really important to keep those firearms locked up," said Casey.
If you can't afford a gun lock the Helena Police Department can help.
"We have some basic cable locks here that we could we could give to people. We have a limited number. But if people are interested, they certainly can come by. We can maybe help them out with that. Otherwise, there's tons of resources online," said Casey.
Casey also mentions that there are a lot of resources online for any questions about ways to secure a firearm.
"From gun safes to just trigger locks, which are super cheap and easy to get to biometric safes that make your gun quickly accessible if you needed in a self-defense situation," says Casey, "So I'd just really encourage people to go out, get one of those products to keep your gun locked up in the home."
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