Bexar County will hand out 3,800 portable handgun safes and 1,000 handgun cable locks to San Antonio gun owners at distribution events throughout the summer, according to a Monday announcement.
The initiative, called GunSafety4Bexar, was approved by commissioners last year.
The rollout of the $145,000 ARPA-funded initiative comes on the heels of several shootings across the city in recent months, but the initiative was discussed by commissioners in June 2022.
“We’re well aware a lot of the guns are stolen out of cars and then used in criminal offenses,” former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said at the time. “Gun ownership is a real responsibility, one people need to be cognitive of.”
While supply chain issues delayed the rollout of the initiative, the message comes the day after a fatal shooting sent shoppers into panic at North Star Mall, and as juvenile crime is on the rise, partly due to easy access to guns.
“There’s a lot of issues right now causing gun violence throughout this country. One of them, obviously, is the access to firearms,” said San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said at a press conference about recent shootings on Monday. “It seems anyone who wants to carry a gun is carrying it and there are people out there in the past that you might not suspect are carrying a firearm, but now they are.”
With GunSafety4Bexar, Bexar County is partnering with the University Health trauma care service’s injury prevention department to “take proactive steps to prevent accidental discharges and unauthorized access to firearms, particularly by minors and reduce risks associated with unsecured handguns in homes and vehicles,” the county said in a press release.
While University Health already gives out free gun locks at sheriff’s offices and churches across San Antonio, the initiative is an extra push on certain dates and certain locations, spokeswoman Elizabeth Allen said.
Those who wish to receive a gun lock or safe must register in advance at www.gunsafety4bexar.org. The first giveaway event will take place June 15 at Padre Park at 6515 Padre Dr., from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Three more events will happen throughout August, each from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.:
- July 8 at Bullis County Park at 27583 Blanco Rd
- July 15 at Pletz County Park at 3831 Belgium Lane
- July 22 at Comanche Park at 2600 Rigsby Avenue
- August 19 at Rodriguez Park at 2060 Rodriguez Avenue
