Thousands of guns were surrendered across New York on Saturday in exchange for gift cards as part of the state’s gun buyback program.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office organized the event, said that more than 3,000 guns including various assault-style rifles and “ghost guns” were given up in what she hailed as a “landmark event.”
Individuals who surrendered assault-style rifles and “ghost guns” — guns built from firearm parts sold unassembled — were given US$500 gift cards, ABC News reported.
Photo: AFP
Participants who turned in handguns also received US$500 for the first weapon and an additional US$150 for each additional handgun surrendered.
In total, nine buyback locations were set up across the state, including two in New York City. At one of the buyback locations in Brooklyn, officials reported that they received 90 guns in just three hours, with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez being “especially pleased” by the amount of smaller guns that were surrendered, ABC 7 reported.
“There’s a lot of firepower on this table,” Gonzalez said, as he attended the buyback program at the All Saints Church in Brooklyn on Saturday.
“And each and every one of these guns is a potential life saved, and a non-fatal shooting avoided,” he added.
Meanwhile in Syracuse, 751 firearms were relinquished by residents. The vast surrender came just days after the Syracuse mayor, Ben Walsh, attributed the rising number of guns to the city’s increase in the rate of violent crime.
“There are too many damn guns in this country. They’re everywhere. And we have too many states that are abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being sold safely,” Walsh told a press conference, ABC News reported.
“And our federal government is abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being handled safely,” he said.
Syracuse officials have so far removed 76 guns from the community this year compared with 55 guns at the same time last year, he added.
Of the guns seized, 90 percent were from out of state, Walsh said.
James agreed, saying: “Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers... Every gun that we removed out of Syracuse homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.”
In New York City, the police department has established a Cash for Guns program in which the New York Police Department would offer US$200 to anyone who surrenders a gun. Individuals who choose to surrender their guns do not have to identify themselves nor will they be asked any questions by officials.
As of Sunday, 13,839 individuals died from gun violence in the country, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Suicide accounted for 7,920 of those deaths, while 5,919 people died from homicide, murder or unintentional shootings.
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