Baltimore secures $245K for free gun safes to curb firearm violence

U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume has secured $245,000 in federal funding to boost safe firearm storage in Baltimore. The money will provide biometric safes, lockboxes, and cable locks to residents across the city. The initiative aims to cut down on gun-related injuries and deaths by preventing unauthorised access to firearms.

Mfume visited Johns Hopkins Hospital on Monday, March 30, to announce the program. He was joined by hospital leaders and gun violence prevention experts to outline how the funds will be used.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Justice and will support a partnership between Johns Hopkins and local organisations. The effort involves trauma centres at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Children's Center, and Bayview Medical Center. Community groups will also help distribute safe storage devices to patients and families.

Research from the Center for Gun Violence Solutions backs the approach. Studies show that secure storage reduces suicides, homicides, and accidental shootings. It also helps prevent gun theft, which can fuel further violence. Since 2022, Johns Hopkins and partners like Safe Storage Rocks and Shots Fired have handed out thousands of gun locks in Baltimore. While exact numbers of equipped households aren't publicly available, the program has expanded into neighbourhoods such as Sandtown-Winchester. The new funding will build on this work, making storage devices more widely available. At the announcement, Mfume stood alongside Kevin Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System, and Katherine Hoops, director of clinical programs at the Center for Gun Violence Solutions. Other representatives from the hospital and federal offices also attended. They stressed that safe storage is one piece of a larger strategy to tackle gun violence and improve community safety.

The $245,000 will go toward buying and distributing secure storage devices in Baltimore. Hospitals and community groups will work together to get them to residents. The goal is to lower gun-related harm by ensuring firearms are kept out of the wrong hands. Johns Hopkins will continue tracking the program's impact as part of its broader violence prevention efforts.