Officer Shay Wash of the Wichita Police Department held a press conference yesterday to introduced Eddie Eagle® to the community. A product of the 2009 nationwide Eddie Eagle® mascot costume contest, Wichita is one of many departments around that nation that received a mascot costume free of charge. So now that he's in town, where will Eddie be appearing?

"Our hope is to include a visit from Eddie Eagle at school assemblies, safety fairs, and other special events we are presenting to children," proclaimed Officer Wash.

Reaching over 23 million children since its inception in 1998, the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program teaches pre-K through the third grade children simple, effective rules to follow should they encounter a firearm in an unsupervised setting: “If you see a gun: STOP! Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult.”

You can watch the press conference here.

For more on the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program, call the Eddie Eagle® Department at (800) 231-0752 or visit www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/.