‘Save the children’: Group hopes gun lock handout in West Roseland will save a life

CHICAGO — Hundreds of gun locks were handed out this weekend in a move to secure handguns in Chicago.

“We’ve got to save these kids,” Andrew Holmes, a crisis responder, said.

It’s not the first time Holmes has led the charge on gun locks.

During an Easter basket giveaway in April, Holmes’s family foundation handed out 2,000 locks to be distributed.

The goal in the new year is to drastically increase the number of locks in use.

“It’ll take a lot of time and effort but if it saves one life, it’ll be worth it,” John Coyne with the Schofield Family Foundation said.

The Schofield Family Foundation is another partner in the push to secure guns.

They are going door to door with police and others to ensure they’re getting into the hands of those who need them.

“You get tired of seeing our kids get lost,” Michael Airhart with All Kids Matter Foundation, said. “I can’t imagine losing a child. I just can’t imagine. And if it takes use giving our free locks, not costly, free, and also bring them to your house, we drop them off, that’s how serious this is.”

The gun lock handout comes just days after the death of Jarvis Watts.

The nine-year-old boy was shot with a handgun and killed during a New Year’s party at 94th and Wallace in Washington Heights.

“If there’s a law that states you can’t drink and drive, then guns and children don’t mix neither. Save the children.”

Holmes sees the increase in childrens’ gun deaths as a very adult problem, which is why he’s giving the locks to adults, educating them on how to use them and why.

“We have to do it save our children,” Holmes said. “It’s negligence because you leave it there and there’s not a lock on it, then it’s not an accident.”

They hope this movement to “lock it down” pays off and spreads beyond Chicago.

“I think we are making a difference,” Coyne said.

“It only takes one of these to save a life,” Airhart said. “It only takes one of these to save a life. And what’s needed to be done. Lock it down. Save a life.”

To request a lock, contact Holmes at 1-800-883-5587. You can also make a donation to the Andrew Holmes Foundation at Chase Bank.