According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, a child is injured or killed from gun violence every 30 hours in L.A. County. Just in 2022, more than 500 people died after being shot with a gun. With gun shot wounds up, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) will distribute free gun locks to the public with no questions asked. The public can pick up the gun locks from a distribution box inside of the hospital’s emergency room 24/7. PVHMC is among a handful of local hospitals to receive free gun locks from the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention in efforts to reduce accidental gunshot wounds and deaths.
To introduce the program to the public, PVHMC partnered with the Pomona Police Department to demonstrate how to use the steel cable gun locks. PVHMC Medical Director of Trauma Services Michael Jimenez M.D. demonstrated ‘Stop the Bleed’ techniques to teach the public how to stop major hemorrhaging with tourniquets and properly applied pressure until first responders arrive.
PVHMC Trauma Services averages about 12 patients a year with accidental injuries from a firearm with the average of patients ranging from ages 2 – 58.
Check out our coverage below:
ABC7 Los Angeles - Pomona Valley Hospital Free Gun Lock Giveaway
KTLA - Free Gun Locks Distributed in Pomona Hospital
KFI Radio – Pomona Hospital Gives Away Free Gun Locks
KNX Radio - Pomona Hospital Offers Free Gun Locks
KABC Radio - Free Gun Locks in Pomona Hospital
Univision Edicion Digital Los Angeles - Pomona Hospital Offers Free Gun Locks to Save (3:28-5:54)