During a concerted effort to directly address gun violence in the Bronx, a gun buyback event on last Saturday netted a substantial haul of weapons. The voluntary surrender of these arms occurred at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Wakefield section, with participators in the buyback receiving incentives for their submissions, as the Bronx District Attorney’s Office has confirmed to the public
The latest collection consisted of a wide array of firearms, totalling 180, including 11 assault-style rifles. Clark mentioned the critical importance of community cooperation and offered thanks to Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie for funding the event. He also extended gratitude to Father Pierre-Andre H. Duvert for hosting to allow the gun buyback at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. A diverse mix of 83 semiautomatics, 54 revolvers, 11 assault weapons, two rifles, four shotguns, and a ghost gun among others formed the bulk of the turned-in artillery. Participants were compensated handsomely for their efforts with electronics and gift cards that ranged from $200 to $500 in value, with IPAD Pros and gaming consoles among the loot.
This gun buyback was not the first of its kind in the region this year; it followed on the heels of a previous event that took place at St. James Episcopal Church in Fordham. That earlier buyback, on November 22, managed to garner 165 firearms. These repeated efforts represent an ongoing strategy to reduce the potential for future firearm-related incidents…