BATON ROUGE — Experts are emphasizing the importance of gun safety after a toddler was killed Friday morning after finding a loaded gun.

"Even a small child, a fairly small child, as apparently happened this morning, can make a gun work. So, as opposed to just unloading the chamber, I prefer to see people lock them up if they're not in personal control of the gun," Firearms instructor Greg Phares said.

Firearms instructor, Greg Phares, says anytime you're not carrying your gun or it's not in your immediate control, it needs to be locked up or disabled, so those who are not authorized to use it won't get to it.

"There are a number of devices that work pretty well. One of the ones I like is a little drawer safe that you access by a small combination 1-2-3-4, something like that, or a fingerprint," Phares said.

There are also some other methods that you can use to make sure your gun is secure.

"Simple to use, where you can see that there is actually no magazine in the gun, nor can one be inserted. The gun is locked back and emptied. There's no way to chamber this, even if you were to manipulate it; a bullet in there, it would not close all the way, so this gun would not fire," Jim McClain said.

Jim McClain, owner of Jim's Firearms, says he strongly recommends gun education for everyone.

"Make a system, you come home, carry a gun, a concealed weapon, when you come to your house, make a system that you put that gun securely away so no young children can find it," McClain said. 

You can find more about Jim's Firearms here.