Tag: accidental

Stay Safe at Halloween – Trick or Treating Tips

In 1975, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori was shot dead:  he was on his way to a costume party and went to the wrong house.

Property owner Rodney Peairs fatally shot Hattori, claiming he thought Mr Hattori was trespassing with criminal intent.

Peairs was acquitted of manslaughter at a criminal trial, but at a civil trial he was found liable for Hattori’s death.

Trick or Treating and Halloween parties, sadly need a bit of caution and safety in our gun culture society.  We’re asking you to help share some safety tips.  Building on advice from the American Red Cross, this advice could save lives:

HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT AND PARTY SAFETY
🎃 Halloween Gun Safety & Awareness Tips 

1. Avoid realistic weapon props.
Toy guns or replicas can be mistaken for real ones — keep costumes clearly harmless.

2. Stay visible.
Reflective tape, glowsticks, or small lights make you easy to see — and identify as celebrators, not intruders.

3. Respect private property.
Never cut through yards or approach back doors. Stick to porches with lights on.

4. Announce yourself clearly.
If someone seems unsure of who you are, keep distance, remove masks, and speak calmly.

5. Avoid surprise visits or loud knocking.
Unexpected noises can startle homeowners, especially in areas with higher gun ownership.

6. Travel in groups, stay in lit areas.
You’re safer and easier to recognise together.

7. Keep phone & ID handy.
In case of confusion or emergency, you can contact help fast.

8. Report unsafe behaviour.
If you see someone carrying a real weapon or acting threateningly, move away and alert authorities.

9. Teach kids what to do if they see a gun.
Don’t touch it — leave and tell an adult immediately.

10. Remember:
Halloween is for joy, not fear. Stay visible, stay calm, stay safe.

 

ACTION:

Please just copy and share the message above (customize it if you like) on your own social media or discuss with your friends

 

 

Once you have shared the above message on social media/to a friend by email, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

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June 2025 – 6192:  the number of young people shot in the USA in 2023. The Trace reports:-

“6,192 – The number of children and teenagers shot in 2023

“Firearms surpassed motor vehicle crashes to become the leading cause of death among children and teenagers for the first time in 2020. Since the pandemic, most of these deaths have been homicides. This is in contrast to the U.S. population at large, for which suicide is the main driver of firearm death. Of the 6,192 children and teenagers under 18 who were shot in 2023, more than 1,600 died. [Gun Violence Archive]”

There have been at least 4 children hurt or killed in gun accidents in their family homes in the last days of May 2025.  One was fatal.  All of these were wholly avoidable.

As any member of the gun-owning ‘well-regulated militia’ is supposed to know, to prevent accidents all guns in a home should be unloaded, in a safe, and that guns and ammo must be stored separately.

Brigham City, Utah, police said:

“If you don’t have a safe then you can get what’s called a trigger lock that you put a lock on the trigger of the gun… You can buy those when you buy the gun, they are cheap. Or most police departments, you can go to the police department and get those trigger locks. We give them away for free.”

Police would like gun owners to discuss how dangerous guns are with their children, and to tell children to tell an adult immediately if they find a gun.

ACTION:

Please just copy and share the message below (customize it if you like) on your own social media or discuss with your friends

 

Some American gun owners are still not getting the message that guns and children do not mix.  In the last week, at least four children were injured, one fatally, by finding loaded guns – guns which legally should never have been left lying around where children were able to get them.  In 2023, 6,193 children were in shooting incidents; many found loaded guns and suffered the consequences.  Every time, the parent/carer thinks it can’t happen to them.

If you keep a gun around children, make sure it is stored safely, unloaded, somewhere they cannot access it.

Police would like gun owners to discuss how dangerous guns are with their children, and to tell children to tell an adult immediately if they find a gun.

Please share this post; it might well stop a tragedy.

 

Once you have shared the above message on social media/to a friend by email, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

(we never share your information; your email is used just to count how many different people take each action).