MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Following a 6-year-old boy bringing a gun to school, gun safety expert Bennie Cobb is reminding parents to take all the necessary precautions to keep kids safe.
The boy found and took his mother’s gun, which had a bullet in the chamber, to Geeter K-8 school on Thursday. His mother is facing charges.
22-year-old Ke’Erinie King appeared in court Friday morning on charges of child abuse and neglect or endangerment, carrying a weapon on school property and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
According to the affidavit from Memphis Police, the 6-year-old passed around the loaded Ruger 9mm, which certified firearms instructor and safety expert Bennie Cobb said has a trigger light enough for a young child to pull.
He said that when it comes to gun safety, this mother allegedly did almost everything wrong.
“If you have a gun and you have children in the home, you have to take all the safety precautions,” Cobb said. “Kids are curious. They’re going to get those guns.”
Cobb said the best way to securely store a gun is to make sure the chamber is empty, attach a gun lock and store it in a safe.
He believes it could have prevented Thursday’s gun scare.
While no one was hurt, parents are still in shock.
“It’s really traumatizing to know that a young child, 6 years old...has access to a gun without the parent knowing,” said Geeter K-8 parent Darrin Rayford, whose son is in the sixth grade.
It’s why, once a month, Cobb said he does gun safety classes for children. They take a gun safety pledge and are even allow to fire the guns so they can see that they are not a toys
“When we have gun safety for kids — of course, the parents or guardians have to be there — we find the kids know more about guns than the adults,” Cobb said.
According to Cobb, it’s something more and more parents and kids should learn, especially in 2024. His classes are free for anyone to attend.
“Not only do we have to deal with it in our communities, we got to deal with it in our schools," Rayford said. "So it’s like nowhere our children are safe when they’re not around us,”
Rayford said would like to see Geeter K-8 school return to its clear backpack policy.
King was released on her own recognizance Friday and is due back in court Oct. 4.