A child who police say accidentally shot himself in the car while his mother was shopping is putting the spotlight on securing firearms inside vehicles.
The 12 year old is expected to be Ok, but Chattanooga police say it's the gun owner's responsibility to make sure their weapons are secure.
Monday we looked into what you can do if you want to keep a gun in your vehicle and make sure it stays out of the wrong hands.
"The number of car burglaries have increased, coinciding with a number of weapons that are allowed to be kept in cars," Glenn Scruggs with CPD.
With the amount of guns in cars...
"We still want to put out to the public to be mindful of securing their weapons, like in their, you know, vehicles," says Chief Celeste Murphy.
Just last week, the Chattanooga Police Department begged the public to keep them secure.
"Often it's weapons that are not owned by the person who use them to commit the crime," says Chief Murphy.
Their plea foreshadowing what happened on Wilcox Boulevard Friday.
Police say a 12-year-old shot himself with a gun he found in his family's vehicle.
A business owner nearby says the child's parent was inside one of these shops.
We asked Chattanooga police if the gun was secured in the car, but a spokesperson told us they are getting conflicting statements.
Glenn Ashley with North Georgia Reloading says it's an easy fix.
Ashely recommends all gun owners to have one of gun lock boxes.
He recommends keeping them in a non-visible secure spot within the vehicle.
"It takes you know, 30 seconds to drop it in there, turn the lock on your glove box and it's locked," says Ashley.
Ashley says it could reduce the risk of children getting ahold of guns, as well as prevent thieves from getting their hands on them.
Every gun purchase nationwide must come with cable locks, according to Ashley.
But it's up to the owners if they use it.
According to data by Every Town Research, so far this year in Tennessee there have been at least 3 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 1 death and two injuries.