(ABC 6 News) — After a six-year-old was accidentally shot in Elgin on Tuesday, June 25, officials are highlighting the importance of gun safety, especially around children.

The Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office said the child was accidentally shot by another individual and was seriously injured.

Since 2020, firearms have been the leading cause of death in children and teens, and the U.S. Surgeon General is calling gun violence in America “a public health concern.”

Representatives from Be Smart For Kids, an educational branch of every town, say that it’s on every adult to protect kids from getting ahold of a firearm.

Just telling kids to not play with guns is not enough either, because accidents with guns can happen to anyone if they are not stored properly, according to Anne Suchomel from Be Smart for Kids.

“Children are impulsive, they’re curious, guns are a great source of curiosity for children. So we can’t, we don’t want to educate the curiosity out of them. We need to protect them by securing the firearm,” Suchomel said.

Guns should be stored in a safe, secured with a lock, or with some other device. More information on how to safely store guns can be found here.