Fortress Safe recalled about 61,000 biometric gun safes following the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Thursday.
“The biometric lock on gun safes can be opened by unauthorized users, posing a serious injury hazard and risk of death,” the commission wrote in a statement.
The commission said consumers can falsely believe they properly set the biometric lock function, but instead it is in the default to open mode. This allows users, including children, to easily access the safe.
The regulatory agency pointed to a recent lawsuit that claims a 12-year-old boy died from a firearm obtained from one of these safes and noted 39 incidents of users reporting that their safes were accessed by unpaired fingerprints.
The recalled safes were sold from January 2019 through October 2023 at a variety of stores including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Scheels, Sportsman’s Guide, OpticsPlanet, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gander, Rural King, Lowe’s and online retailers like Amazon and eBay, the commission said.
The model numbers under the recall are 11B20, 44B10, 44B10L, 44B20, 55B20, 55B30, 55B30G, 4BGGBP and 55B30BP.
Those with qualifying safes are advised to immediately stop using the biometric reader in the safe, remove the batteries and contact Fortress for a free replacement.
The recall comes as firearm-related deaths in children reached historic highs in recent years.
A study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics in August reported gun deaths among children rose again in 2021 to a total of 4,752, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure surpassed the previous high set in 2020.
A separate study from the Pew Research Center in April found deaths among U.S. children and teens jumped by 50 percent between 2019 and 2021.