The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of nearly 61,000 biometric gun safes sold nationwide after the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy.
The safes were recalled due to the safety hazard and risk of death caused by a programming feature that could allow unauthorized users, including children, access to the safe, the recall notice shared.
The product’s manufacturer, Fortress Safe, was recently named in a lawsuit that alleged a 12-year-old boy died from a firearm obtained from one of the safes, the CPSC noted.
The New York Times reported on the lawsuit, filed earlier this year in a Nevada Court, noting that the child died after he “suffered a lethal gunshot wound to the head” in January 2022. The boy had been able to access the safe in his home despite his fingerprint not being authorized.
The boy’s father purchased the safe in March 2021 from a sporting goods store in Nevada, the lawsuit said, the Times reported.
The agency also said that there have been 39 other incidents of safe owners reporting the product had been accessed by unpaired fingerprints.
The gun safes affected in the recall were sold from January 2019 to October 2023. They were available for purchase nationwide at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gander, Lowe’s, Optics Planet, Rural King, Scheel’s, and Sportsman’s Guide. They were also for sale online and were priced between $44 and $290.
The model numbers for the safes affected by the recall are 11B20, 44B10, 44B10L, 44B20, 55B20, 55B30, 55B30G, 4BGGBP, and 55B30BP.
The CPSC is advising owners of the gun safes to stop using the biometric features, remove the batteries from the safe, and only use the key for entry.
Owners can contact the company or visit its website here for instructions on how to disable the biometric feature and to receive a free replacement.