Content warning: this story talks about suicide.
Chief District Court Judge J. Corpening said over the last three years, he’s seen a trend of juvenile gun violence being committed with stolen firearms. Stolen from where? Cars.
“Kids run into an entire apartment complex, entire neighborhoods pulling handles, not breaking glass, pulling handles, and they're looking for guns and money. More than half of our juveniles in New Hanover County who are charged with [breaking and entering], now also have an accompanying gun charge," he said.
That accompanying gun charge, however, is only a misdemeanor if a juvenile is in possession of a firearm they aren’t legally allowed to have due to age. For current felons, possessing a firearm is an additional felony, and comes with a much heavier punishment.
District Attorney Ben David noted that this ties into a worrisome trend.
“There's even a disturbing term that they've used for this, kids are getting called ‘holsters’. They're literally the ones carrying the guns. And so what I'm particularly concerned about is this notion that what happens off campus is somehow in a separate world from what can come on campus,” he continued “As I said in this very room right after the New Hanover County [High School] shooting, that wasn't a classic school shooting where a kid was getting bullied and lashed out at classmates. It was community violence, that crossed the invisible barrier that we've long held sacrosanct and said, here it is on a campus now, and now everyone's talking about it," David said.
Guns on school campuses have also been a broader nationwide issue, and New Hanover school staff and justice partners both noted recent events at Ashley High.
Deputy Secretary of Juvenile Justice William Lassiter noted that there are two key reasons juveniles are bringing guns on school campuses: gang initiations, and "for protection. They believe that the school environment is unsafe. And so they're bringing that firearm to school.”
Officials said mental health is also a key part of the safe gun storage conversation. According to the CDC, North Carolina’s death by firearms rate was roughly 17 per 100,000 residents. In 2019, suicides made up over half, 54%, of those deaths; that’s slightly lower than the national average of 57%.
And the success rate of suicide attempts by firearms is grim: nearly 90% of attempts are fatal.
Corpening was clear in his message to parents: it’s against the law to have any minor in a home at any time, and not have a handgun locked or stored away in a safe with some kind of locking mechanism.
“Are you willing to take a chance on your child's life by leaving your firearm unsecured? How many times do we hear a family totally surprised by a child’s suicide? Using a firearm that was in the home? Let's be careful out there. Let's be safe. Let's lock the guns up," Corpening said.
Lassiter noted that having guns locked up can physically deter an individual from committing suicide:
“What we found is that in 79% of the cases, when someone has to unlock a safe, put a key in or put a code in and figure it out before they get that gun out, that often is the time that we need for the intervention to kick in, for that person to change their mind,” he said.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “suicidal individuals who don't have immediate access to a lethal suicide method, such as a gun, in most cases don't simply find another way to take their life. By separating a suicidal person from their firearm, even temporarily, you increase their chances for survival.”
While supplies last, county residents can receive a gun lock or gun locker free of charge if they apply for a concealed carry permit at the sheriff’s office. The initiative also establishes a comprehensive list of locations where gun owners can drop their firearms off for storage if no safe alternative is available in the home.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, call or text the National Suicide Hotline at 988.
