Gov. Cooper: Gun violence 'horrifically commonplace' in NC

Governor Roy Cooper spoke in Kinston about efforts to reduce gun-related death among children. The governor addressed the mayor's Crime Intervention Task Force meeting today. The event was held to promote the state's NC SAFE campaign, a nonpartisan public education campaign, and comes days after a graduate student shot a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

NC SAFE seeks to address the rise in gun-related deaths in North Carolina by promoting secure firearm storage — that is locking away guns in a safe or with a lock when not in use and not leaving a weapon in an unattended vehicle.

Gun deaths have surpassed car accidents as the number one cause of death for those under 18 in North Carolina, according to 2020 data, the most recent available from the NC Child Fatality Task Force.

One hundred and five children died in 2020 from gun-related incidents. Last year, a 2-year old in Johnston county died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after finding a loaded handgun in the front seat of the family’s truck.

"Every day five people die in North Carolina from a firearm," Cooper said. "The number cause of death among children in this state and country is being shot by a gun."

Cooper and other speakers say the rise in gun-related deaths is due in part to more people owning guns and not storing them properly. During the pandemic, the number of first-time gunowners increased in the state and nationally. Data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Humans Services finds that roughly 40% of gun owners with firearm in the home leave them loaded and unlocked.

NC SAFE is blanketing television with ads to educate gun owners to store firearms in their home in a gun safe or with a gun lock.

"Gun owners must be responsible for the guns that they own, they must work to keep them from being stolen," Cooper said. "They must work to keep them away from children. They must work to keep them away from people considering suicide."

Deputy Secretary of Juvenile Justice William Lassiter says his department has seen a rise in the number of children receiving gun-related charges. More than 4,500 minors faced gun-related charges in 2022, the highest in five years.

"We went from 4% to 13% of juveniles of possessing firearms when committing a crime," Lassiter said. "They're reason kids are getting access to firearms are two things. One, they're taking them from their parents. . . The other place is vehicles. They're stealing them from cars."

Governor Cooper said that while lawmakers disagree about laws banning assault weapons and improving background checks, there is an understanding that gunowners are responsible for their firearms. The GOP-led General Assembly approved funding last year for the NC SAFE campaign, which officially launched in June.

Today's event comes days after a graduate student shot his faculty advisor at UNC-Chapel Hill, Cooper's alma mater.

"An incident like that is horrifically commonplace in our state and nation," Cooper said.

The governor said school safety must be a priority and applauded law enforcement officials response.