16 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 17, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Gun buyback event takes 79 fi rearms off Queens streets
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th ere are 79 illegal weapons off the
streets of Queens as a result of a gun
buyback event co-hosted by Queens
District Attorney Melinda Katz, New
York State Attorney General Letitia
James and the NYPD on Saturday,
June 12.
In return for an Apple iPad — while
supplies lasted — and a $200 bank card,
gun owners were encouraged to surrender
their operable fi rearms at St. Mary
Magdalene Roman Catholic Church in
Springfi eld Gardens between 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., no questions asked. Additionally,
owners of BB guns or air pistols received
a $25 bank card, and those in possession
of a rifl e or shotgun were handed a $75
bank card.
Standing behind three tables loaded
with guns ranging from semi-automatic
fi rearms, revolvers, single-shot
and semi-automatic rifl es to BB guns
and imitation pistols, Katz emphasized
the importance of such events given the
steep rise in violent crimes and shootings
— not only in Queens, but across
New York City.
Katz urged that the gun violence in
New York City must stop, stressing that
the message to the younger generation
had to be that this can’t and won’t be
“the new norm.”
“It has to be unacceptable that people
cannot walk their children to school,
that grandparents are worried about
going to any of their friends’ homes, that
people would go out at night and have
to worry about being an unintended target,”
Katz said.
She added that the partnership
with the attorney general’s
offi ce and the NYPD
was vital to get fi rearms off
the street “so that these
guns right here, they are
never going to hurt
anybody.”
James said she was
glad to see that 79
weapons were off the
streets and “will no
longer hurt children,
hurt senior
citizens purged
i n d i v i d u a l s
innocently who
are walking the
streets of New
York City.”
Th e attorney
general pointed
out that
90 percent of
fi rearms in
New York
City come
through the
Iron Pipeline
from states with
lax gun laws
along Interstate
95.
She commended
the
state legislature for passing the gun
manufacturer bill, which would allow
her offi ce to go aft er gun manufacturers
who fail to take steps to prevent the
unlawful sale of fi rearms in New York.
According to the bill, “those responsible
for the illegal or unreasonable sale,
manufacture, distribution, importing or
marketing of fi rearms may be held liable
for the public nuisance caused by
such activities.”
Fearing that it would be a
“long, hot summer,” James reiterated
that she was committed to
“go aft er the individuals who are
responsible for gun violence
and those individuals
who put guns
in the hands of
criminals.”
“We’ve got
to do all that
we can do to
reduce the
gun violence
in
the streets
of New
York City and
across the state of
New York,” James
said.
Looking at the
number of weapons
that were turned in,
NYPD Community
Aff airs Chief Jeff rey Maddrey said, “It’s
imponderable when you think about the
amount of damage and destruction that
these weapons can do out here in our
communities, and unfortunately, we’re
living through it.”
According to the latest NYPD crime
statistics, so far, the city has seen 602
shooting incidents in 2021, a 68.2 percent
rise compared to the same time
period last year. Th ere have been 687
New Yorkers injured or killed due to
gun violence, compared to 409 for the
same time period in 2020.
Chief Maddrey
explained that
while it was the
job of law enforcement
to get weapons
off the street,
it also was a moral
and ethical responsibility. He reminded
the community that it was everyone’s obligation
to get guns off the street “because
we can not allow children, babies, our
babies to be harmed in communities by
gun violence.”
“We should all feel comfortable walking
Seventy-nine guns were taken off the streets at
the buyback event.
outside of our homes or spending
time with our families at barbecues,
or going anywhere in the city, and not
feel threatened by gun violence,” Chief
Maddrey said.
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and
Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers
both emphasized the importance of community
outreach.
Brooks-Powers, whose district includes
Edgemere, where 10-year-old Justin
Wallace was shot and killed on June 5,
expressed that his tragic death, “reinforced
the need for the community to
come together to get these guns off the
streets.”
She was happy to see how many people
surrendered their weapons and said
she was looking forward to continuing
her partnership with Hyndman,
Gateway JFK, the DA’s offi ce and AG
James “to ensure that we’re doing everything
we can to create a safe environment
where our children can grow and
live and thrive.”
Th e buyback event, which was co-sponsored
by Gateway JFK, St. Luke Cathedral
of Laurelton, St. Mary Magdalene, and
the New York City Police Foundation,
was the fourth of Katz’s administration.
Combined, they have collected 285
guns.
New York State Attorney
General Letitia James
shows a small handgun
that had been turned in.
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks at a gun buyback
event that took 79 guns off Queens streets on June 12.
NYPD Community Aff airs Chief Jeff rey
Maddrey speaks at the gun buyback
event.
Queens DA Melinda Katz inspects one of the guns taken off the streets.
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