Indianapolis, June 14, 2005 – Just weeks prior to his graduation in 2003, Jason Peterson was left paralyzed by a gunshot that forever changed his life. In February 2005, Jason died by what appeared to be a result of his 2003 wounds.

A 4-year-old South Bend boy was critically injured when he accidentally shot himself in the chest with a 38 caliber revolver, just days before school was out. A 7-year-old friend said the boy thought the gun was a toy.

The Indiana Partnership to Prevent Violent Injury and Death at Riley Hospital for Children in conjunction with Wishard Health Services will sponsor the fifth annual National Ask Day with a tree planting ceremony in memory of children affected by gun violence at the Broad Ripple High School, 1115 Broad Ripple Ave. on Tuesday, June 21 at 1:00 pm.

ASK Day (Asking Saves Kids) set on the first day of summer, is a yearly event designed to highlight the importance of parents asking if there are guns in the homes where their children play. ASK Day is a comprehensive national public health campaign, developed by PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"Gun Violence is affecting our youth on an epidemic scale and gun safety must be addressed on a national level, said Clark J. Simons, MD, attending surgeon, IU/Wishard Level I Trauma Center and assistant professor of surgery, Department of Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine.  “The ASK Day is an excellent opportunity to bring this important need to the front of the community's consciousness.” 

Eight children are killed and 33 wounded from guns every day, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, statistics that are unmatched across the developed world.

“Just talking to your child about the dangers of firearms is not enough,” said Heather McCabe, executive director of the Indiana Partnership to Prevent Violent Injury and Death. “Children are naturally curious. If a gun is accessible in someone’s home, there is a good chance a child will find it and play with it. Hiding guns is not enough. There are countless tragic stories of kids finding guns that parents thought were well hidden. Ideally, guns need to be stored unloaded and locked in a gun safe with ammunition locked separately or stored unloaded with a trigger locking device.”

Nationally, more than 40 percent of homes with children have guns, many kept unlocked and loaded. In Indiana, 49 percent of the homes own firearms. In the U.S., 3,500 children under the age of 20 are killed each year by gun violence.

“We are pleased to be part of this very important initiative,” said Steve Papesh, principal at Broad Ripple High School. “School officials are faced every day with kids being shot. This is just one way to get the message out about the danger of kids and guns.”

PAX was founded in 1997 to bring new and effective solutions to the problem of gun violence in America, a public health crisis. The non-profit company has since grown into the largest non-lobbying gun violence prevention organization in the nation. More importantly, PAX’s work provides parents, children and others everywhere with simple solutions to make their homes, families and communities safer – solutions, which are literally saving children’s lives every day.

The tree is being provided by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Brochures and free trigger locks will be available to the public at the tree planting ceremony.

“We feel that this tree planting represents the opportunity for growth that our youth can have if unintentional gun violence is addressed," said Simons.

“The tree planting will serve as a hopeful symbol that future tragedies can be prevented through the simple message of the ASK Campaign,” said McCabe.