FINDING SOLUTIONS: Marshal’s Office teaches students gun safety
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - In January, a 5-year-old in Augusta accidentally shot himself — sending him to the hospital.
In November, just days before his 5th birthday, Zykee Ryans died after accidentally shooting himself.
It’s the kind of heartbreaking headline the Richmond County Marshal’s Office is working to prevent in Augusta by finding solutions that start in the classroom.
“What I’m going to talk about is gun safety. Everybody knows what a gun is, correct?”
That’s Lieutenant Omar Rouse, a Richmond County Marshal. He’s teaching kindergarteners at Bayvale Elementary School a lesson that could mean life or death.
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“Gives them the foundation where if they see a gun, they know what to do. Stop, get away from it, don’t play with it, and get a grown-up. So they don’t touch it. The most important thing is getting them not to touch it,” he said.
They use a program called Eddie the Eagle that teaches young kids in a way they can understand.
“A gun! I’ve never seen a real gun before!” is said through the program.
“It’s presented in a way that the info is fun, but it really makes sense to them, and they can apply the information in their way,” said Dr. Judith Jones, Assistant Principal at Bayvale Elementary School. “We can teach them English, math, science, social studies. Unfortunately, we can’t always teach them to be safe when we release them to go home.”
And without that lesson, the rest may never matter.
“Stop, don’t touch! Run away, tell a grown-up” the program sings to remind kids what to do.
A simple jingle kids may when it matters most.
“Don’t touch! Run away, tell a grown-up,” the students sang.
This program is available to anyone who wants. It is free in Richmond County through the Marshal’s Office.
To have a marshal come visit your school, headstart program or any other group, Colonel James Sabb with Eddie the Eagle Program at 706-834-2410.
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