Moldovan police check gun owners for everyone’s safety
In Moldova, tragic incidents related to improper storage of weapons are annually recorded, causing the death of minors.
The last such case was recorded in the north of the country in June last year in the Edinet region, when an 8-year-old child accidentally shot his cousin while playing. As a result of this incident, the child’s father was sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment, tvn.md reports. “An 8-year-old child, through negligence, fired a shot from a pneumatic weapon at a 7-year-old girl. The ambulance took all necessary measures to save the girl’s life, but, unfortunately, she died,” recalled the head of the Edinet private enterprise, Anatoly Gonza. To reduce the number of such tragedies, the General Inspectorate of Police of Moldova annually checks the methods of storage of weapons by owners. “We are currently conducting a nationwide gun safety awareness campaign. Together with our colleagues, we are conducting checks on how you store your guns,” the police explained. The purpose of the campaign is to verify the owners of weapons, as well as to assess the conditions of their storage and access of others to safes.
“The cartridges are stored here, separate from the weapons. The weapons are stored here, should we take them out?
– Yes, Mr. Stanislav, we will take one at a time, and you show me the documents. “MR 153, 12 to 89,” a resident of Moldova demonstrates his property to law enforcement officers.
Gun owners say they are well aware of all the conditions and emphasize that guns are not a simple item, especially for those who are not familiar with them, including children. “I am well aware of the conditions and requirements of the law. The weapons are stored in a safe, which is built into a concrete wall, that is, only I have access to the safe where the weapons are stored. In addition to storage conditions, it is necessary to pay great attention to the upbringing of the child so that he does not have temptation to take possession of a weapon,” emphasizes one of the gun owners, Stanislav Sorbala. “I always have the key, no one can open it and get the weapon. Weapons can pose a very great danger. Moreover, the problem is in people, how they behave with weapons, the problem is in how a person handles weapons,” says another gun owner, Petru Cotai. Hunters also affirm that gun owners must be vigilant and responsible.
“These checks are very important so that everything is legal, so that many things are not illegal, as happens when hunting with those who do not have permits, and this control is very good for hunters,” says hunter Mircea Dodinta. “It’s scary for hunters, there are those who come from hunting and throw away their weapons, but after which an employee comes and checks. A gun is something dangerous, they say that an unloaded gun shoots on its own once a year, but if you handle it carelessly, then who knows,” hunter Peter Kironda expresses concern.
Authorities believe such checks will help reduce the number of gun violence incidents, sometimes even involving children.
“These checks are carried out in order to determine, first of all, whether the owners of the weapons in question are complying with the established measures, since there are unpleasant situations throughout the country when weapons fall into the hands of especially teenagers, children, persons who are not gun owners, and there are very tragic cases when they shoot, even in the direction of a playing child, perhaps even out of ignorance, mainly due to ignorance,” says Gheorghe Dragan, deputy head of the Public Security Department of the Balti IP. Persons who voluntarily surrender weapons or ammunition illegally stored in their possession are exempt from criminal liability.
