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Deputy helps put a lock on firearm injuries

By MOISES MENDOZA
Published June 23, 2006

It was Oct. 3, 2004, when Citrus County sheriff's Deputy Kurt Lynn got the call.

Thirteen-year-old Johnny Masukevich and a friend had been playing with a gun. Masukevich was shot dead.

Lynn, then a school resource officer at Crystal River Middle School, was devastated. Masukevich had been a student at his school.

"All sorts of things went through my mind," Lynn said Thursday. "I live in Inverness, and it was a long drive over to Crystal River that day."

But Lynn has helped turn tragedy into a learning opportunity - and he's gotten his employer behind him. This week the Sheriff's Office hosted "Just ASK" day, part of a national gun safety campaign, handing out about 50 gun locks and safety materials to local residents.

Even in the months before Masukevich's death, the Sheriff's Office had been distributing gun locks.

But Lynn took things to the next level. In the days after the shooting, he began carrying gun locks with him everywhere. He put some in his cruiser's trunk and handed them out at fairs and from his office at his school.

He asked other deputies to carry them around, too.

One time Lynn gave away 45 of the locks in two days. He estimates he's given out over 1,000.

In 2005, Lynn teamed up with Jeanne Caroline, whose son had been shot and killed two years earlier. In partnership with other law enforcement officers, they created a gun safety video called "One Reckless Moment, A Lifetime of Emptiness."

That film will be shown to Citrus County high school students later this year.

Although he has been a leader, Lynn has gotten help from other crime prevention officers and volunteers who have been handing out gun locks at community events.

The Sheriff's Office was recently honored for its efforts by the gun safety education program, Project ChildSafe.

Lynn is determined to continue doing all he can to keep more kids from dying in Citrus County.

In 2003, 151 children under 19 died in gun accidents nationwide, the last year for which statistics were kept, according to the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I don't want to see another student get hurt or killed by a gun around here or anywhere," Lynn said. "I'll do anything I can to prevent that."

News researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Moises Mendoza can be reached at mmendoza@sptimes.com or 860-7337.

[Last modified June 23, 2006, 06:37:07]