Local deputy talks about being shot as child, promotes gun safety

JACKSON, Tenn. — The American Academy of Pediatrics puts the pressure on parents to ask about guns where their children play. It’s part of a nationwide campaign called ASK Day, or Asking Saves Kids.

“I heard the shot, but I didn’t exactly know what happened,” Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Logan Copley said.

Copley said he was shot at age 10 while playing at a friend’s house. Copley, who now works for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, said his friend got a hold of a parent’s loaded gun.

“He was playing with the pistol and it went off,” Copley said. “Went in the back part of my shoulder and came out here and lodged up back behind my ear and went up inside of my face.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 78 children, teens and young adults are injured and killed by guns every day.

“100% of the injuries that we see and the deaths that we see because of guns are preventable,” Dr. Alison Tothy, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to ask if there is a gun in the home where your child is going to play. If the answer is yes, ask how the gun is stored. Pediatricians said it should be in a locked location and unloaded. Ammunition should be locked up separate, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. If you are not comfortable with the answers, invite the other child to play at your house instead.

“Treat every firearm as being loaded,” Lt. Allen Castleman, with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, said.

Copley encouraged people to keep their guns locked up away from kids. “Teach the children that these guns are dangerous and they can hurt you,” he said.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office said since 2011 they have taught gun safety to more than 3,000 Jackson-Madison County students.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said firearm injuries are one of the top three causes of death among children and teens.