NC S.A.F.E. event highlights importance of effective gun storage: 'You can save so many lives'
GARNER, N.C. (WTVD) -- Jenesis Dockery was just eight years old when she was shot and killed while at her babysitter's house. According to her father, the babysitter's son brought a firearm from his father's house to the home. At some point, she was accidentally shot and killed.
"The most upsetting for us is, this was preventable," said Father Fon Dockery. "It's not only upsetting. But it is also, in turn, part of the same fuel we use to advocate and fight. This didn't have to happen."
Dockery and his wife started the Live Like Jenesis Project to raise awareness of safe gun storage.
"You can save so many lives by just properly and effectively securing your weapon every single time. That's our message," said Dockery.
On Wednesday, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, along with Wake County Public Schools and the North Carolina Department of Justice, hosted an NC S.A.F.E. event at Garner Magnet High School. The acronym S.A.F.E. stands for "safely securing firearms effectively".
"That's what the whole conversation is about tonight," said Department of Public Safety deputy director William Lassiter. "Making sure that parents understand, yes, you have a right to possess firearms. But you also have a huge responsibility to make sure that that firearm doesn't get into the hands of a young person."
According to Lassiter, there were 86 incidents in North Carolina in 2024 of children who gained access to firearms and brought them to school.
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"Most of those guns came from the kids' own home, their parents' own gun," said Lassiter. "And so the message that we're trying to send to parents tonight is that you have a responsibility to make sure that gun does not end up in the hands of a young person or criminal."
The sheriff's office said there were 14 juveniles in Wake County who were charged with a firearm in 2024. And so far this year, there have been two. Although the agency does not track where juveniles obtain those firearms, and went on to clarify that those firearms had not been brought to school.
"We saw 87 guns come on school campuses last year in the state of North Carolina that ended up in 276 complaints against juveniles being filed in juvenile court," DPS deputy secretary for juvenile justice William Lassier said. "It just wrecks that kid's life."
The Wake County Public School System is the first school district to get on board with the program, providing free gun locks and sharing information with families about safe gun storage.
"Any time that a kid brings a firearm or a weapon on campus, he's gotten access to that because an adult has not securely taken care of their weapon," Dr. Robert P. Taylor, Superintendent of the Wake County Public School System, said. "It's a tremendous problem that we want to make sure adults know what their role is in preventing that from happening."
The event marked the first year NC S.A.F.E. has partnered with the school district to advocate for safe and effective gun storage.
"It's like asking (kids) to wear a helmet when they go out on a bike. It's the simple steps that you can take each and every day to make sure that your gun doesn't get into the wrong hands," added Lassiter.
2025 Data
In Wake County, there have been several recent incidents where guns were found on campus, including a student who was found with a loaded gun at Enloe High School in Raleigh at the beginning of this year.
Although Dr. Taylor said the district is considering other resources to keep schools safe, such as metal detectors, safety should be top of mind, including at home, according to Dr. Taylor.
"While we may deploy weapons detection systems and different things of that nature to mitigate weapons entering our schools, it also has everything to do with human behavior," Dr. Taylor said. "Everything for us is looking at all the available resources, but also paying particular attention to how we deal with the human behavior aspect."
The event also highlighted internet safety.
