shooting and killing their 2-year-old cousin<\/a>. <\/p>\n\u201cIf it\u2019s in a holster, maybe it\u2019d make it harder for the child to manipulate,\u201d Blackmon said. \u201cBut it\u2019s literally laying out by itself. So it\u2019s easy to grab, and you pull the trigger\u2014you can\u2019t recall that. It\u2019s not a video game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities say the shooting serves as a painful reminder that even a few moments of carelessness can have irreversible consequences.<\/p>\n
Simple steps can save lives<\/p>\n
Montiero says every gun owner should have basic safety equipment readily available, like a firearm holster if applicable, a safety lock or a case for the weapon.<\/p>\n
And he says even seasoned gun owners and enthusiasts can forget that it doesn\u2019t matter how quickly you think you may have to handle a firearm, always:<\/p>\n
Keep a firearm pointed in a safe direction.<\/p>\n
Identify your target before pulling the trigger.<\/p>\n
Store firearms in a locked safe or secured with a gun lock when not in use.<\/p>\n
Resources<\/p>\n
Free Gun Locks: In Central Florida, free gun safety locks are most reliably available through local sheriff\u2019s offices and police departments. These agencies often partner with Project ChildSafe to provide gun locks and educational materials to residents at no cost.<\/p>\n
Project ChildSafe Kits: The Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Seminole County Sheriff\u2019s Office provide free gun safety kits and lockboxes to promote family and youth safety.<\/p>\n
Court-Ordered & Voluntary Training: The Florida Safety Council (offices in Orlando) provides state-recognized, basic firearms safety and awareness courses.<\/p>\n
Shooters World Orlando: Located roughly 5 miles from Rosemont at 4847 S. Orange Blossom Trail, this facility offers highly rated introductory courses like \u201cFirst Shots,\u201d defensive handgun training, and private lessons. <\/p>\n
Oak Ridge Gun Range: Located at 1221 Florida Mall Ave, this local facility hosts a specialized \u201cPistol & Home Defense\u201d training class on the first Tuesday of every month. Details can be found on the Oak Ridge Gun Range page.<\/p>\n
Florida Firearms Training: For comprehensive building-block courses, concealed carry certifications, and defensive instruction, review the class menu on Florida Firearms Training.<\/p>\n
Decision Tactical: Immersive one-of-a-kind gaming experiences that include simulated shooting ranges and scenarios that are fun for the entire family. 430 Towne Center Cir Ste A, Sanford, FL 32771<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A series of unintentional shootings across Central Florida has renewed questions about firearm safety and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,1335,6889],"class_list":["post-343597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-orange-county","tag-shootings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}