Rigby man invents high-tech gun case to prevent child shootings
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RIGBY – A local man is fed up with how many kids are getting accidentally shot and he’s trying to do something about it.
Wayne Jones has created the Artemis – a lightweight gun case that keeps firearms secure but allows authorized users to access them in a matter of seconds.
“I’ve heard so much in the news about children getting a hold of a weapon,” Jones said. “I knew I needed to do something to make it stop.”
The Artemis is equipped with a fingerprint scanner similar to those used in smart phones. Users scan and store their prints and, when they need to retrieve their weapon, simply put it on the scanner and gun case opens.
The case stores 200 fingerprints and if an unauthorized user tries to access the gun, an alarm sounds until the owner unlocks it.
The Artemis is made of polycarbonate plastic and weighs about one pound without a weapon inside.
“I knew I could develop something that would be secure enough in plastic that would protect the children,” said Jones. “It’s the same thing that bulletproof glass it made out of, the thing that body armor is made out of, and even military grade body armor is made out of polycarbonate.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 311 children were killed in unintentional shootings between 2007 and 2011.
Jones wife, Maggi, is a licensed social worker who says the Artemis isn’t just for children but she believes other lives will be saved too.
“Even a person who’s suicidal sometimes, just five or ten minutes later, might not feel so bad,” Maggi Jones said. “It’s that few minutes time when they’re really, really super critical.”
The Jones have been working with Brigham Young University-Idaho students to launch an Indigogo campaign.
Right now the Artemis can be preordered for $79.00.