90 guns turned in at Brooklyn gun buyback

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Saturday that 90 firearms were turned in at a community gun buyback event hosted their offices and the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

This event was part of Attorney General James’ historic effort to hold nine simultaneous gun buyback events on the same day in communities throughout the state.

Including the guns turned in at the Brooklyn event, James said she secured more than 3,000 guns on Saturday alone from across the state.

To date, she has removed more than 7,000 guns from New York communities since taking office in 2019.

“Gun violence continues to devastate our communities and has caused so many avoidable tragedies and deaths,” said Attorney General James. “Through our close partnership with District Attorney Gonzalez and the NYPD, we were able to organize this historic, single-day gun buyback initiative to combat gun violence and keep New Yorkers safe.

“Every gun that we removed today is a potential tragedy averted and will help make a difference in protecting communities throughout our city and state,” she added.

“Getting firearms off our streets is a collective effort and gun buybacks are one component of a multi-pronged strategy employed by my office,” said District Attorney Gonzalez. “We were proud to partner with Attorney General Letitia James this weekend, as part of her statewide initiative that helped reduce the number of guns that can fall into the wrong hands. We will continue to use every available tool to fight against gun violence, and I thank our Attorney General and everyone else who contributed to the success of today’s event.”

James said Saturday’s statewide gun buyback resulted in the collection of more than 3,000 guns, including 185 assault rifles, 1,656 handguns and 823 long guns.

These figures include the 90 guns collected from the Brooklyn event, which included five assault rifles, 51 handguns and 11 long guns.

Altogether, James said she has removed more than 7,000 guns from New York communities since taking office in 2019.

“The NYPD is proud to partner with the New York State Attorney General’s Office in an effort to make our communities safer through this comprehensive gun buyback in both the Bronx and Brooklyn,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs Mark Stewart. “Gun violence continues to be a pressing issue in our city. Lives are often lost to senseless gun-related incidents, and it is our shared responsibility to take action to prevent further tragedies. The gun buybacks are just one of the many steps we are taking to promote public safety and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.”

“I’m thankful to Attorney General Letitia James and the other partners of the Gun Buyback program for hosting this event,” said State Senator Julia Salazar. “The gun buyback program provides community members with an incentive to improve public safety and decrease the number of firearms in our neighborhoods.”

“Putting together events such as the amnesty gun buyback program has been effective in getting illegal firearms off the street, especially in high crimes areas. It’s a alarming reality to know that gun violence has plagued our local communities, our country and even worldwide, it is through these programs and having stricter gun laws that bring us a step closer towards eradicating gun violence,” said Assemblymember Maritza Davila.

“The problem persists because guns are easily accessible,” she added. “We also need to fix the mental health and drug abuse crisis to ensure people don’t give in to the temptation of giving up or harming others. People need resources, emotional support and guidance, this is also where our focus should be.”

“New York is a national leader in gun violence prevention, but we still have too many neighbors and loved ones stolen by gun violence,” said New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler. “I’m grateful to Attorney General Letitia James and District Attorney Eric Gonzalez for their work to fight back against the gun industry and their commitment to making our neighborhoods safer through local interventions like today’s gun buyback.”

“We applaud Attorney General Letitia James for continuing to take proactive steps to keep our communities safe,” said Shari Maurer, volunteer, New York Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “New York is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to a multi-faceted approach to saving lives and we look forward to continuing to partner with her office and lawmakers to keep New York a national leader in the gun safety movement.”

“New York continues to be a national leader in smart, effective gun laws. And as a result, it has one of the lowest gun death rates in the country — 63 percent below the national average,” said David Pucino, deputy chief counsel, Giffords Law Center. “Attorney General James’s leadership has been critical to New York’s success in fighting gun violence, but there is more work to do.

“This weekend’s buyback will get more potentially dangerous guns off the streets,” he added. “And while we can never know whose lives will be saved by this initiative, we know fewer families will be victimized by gun violence. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”