Gun buybacks remain one of the ways city officials aim to curb gun violence and reduce the number of firearms in communities.
On Saturday, approximately 160 firearms were brought to St. Paul’s Baptist Church in the heart of East New York.
What You Need To Know
Over 160 firearms were turned in Saturday at St. Paul’s Baptist Church
Officials say the “no questions asked” policy encourages participation
Participants received $500 for handguns and assault rifles, plus bonus gifts
DA Eric Gonzalez says the buybacks are part of a broader anti-violence strategy
Alan Foster, the assistant commissioner for the NYPD community affairs bureau, says the ability to be anonymous is key.
“The confidentiality actually really does help folks want to bring in the firearms, but also to people in the community want to see these guns off the streets,” he said. “And the way that we’re going to continue to drive crime down is by working together with our partners.”
Brooklyn’s District Attorney Eric Gonzalez explains the “no questions asked” policy makes it easy for anyone to drop off a firearm without showing ID or explaining how they got the weapon.
“There’s so many people who have access to firearms and they don’t know how to get rid of them. And maybe they have a criminal record, maybe they have had a bad experience with law enforcement. They’re unlikely to walk into a precinct and say, here’s my gun,” he told NY1.
Those who bring in guns get money in exchange. This time, for handguns and assault riffles, people got $500. On top of that, the first 100 people got a pair of Apple AirPods, a pre-holiday present.
While addressing the media, Gonzalez said he is “confident” events like this one saves lives.
Gonzalez says this is a great investment from a financial perspective as well, as one shooting in the city can cost way more than the gun buybacks.
“We have cases where a person is shot, and the hospital bill itself is $400,000 or $500,000 after multiple surgeries, right? Police costs, court costs, right? So this is a great investment,” he said.
After collecting the guns, the NYPD destroys them.
Gonzalez says during his 8 years in office, he has taken over 1,000 guns off the street and tries to do three of these buybacks every year, adding these buybacks are part of a bigger strategy to keep people safe.
“This year, at the end of 2025, will be the safest year in the history of Brooklyn in terms of gun violence,” Gonzalez said. “The fewest number of people ever shot and the fewest number of people ever murdered in this county. So good news. This is just part of a bigger strategy in my office to figure out how we keep people safe.”
Gonzalez said Saturday’s buyback uncovered some unusual guns including ghost guns and small pistols that can fit in someone’s palm.
He says those are the weapons he is most afraid of as you cannot always see them coming.
Gonzalez says he is grateful to have gotten so many of them off the street.