1,581 guns collected in Asbury, Keansburg buybacks
'The voluntary surrender of these weapons simply makes our streets and neighborhoods safer'
More than 1,500 guns were collected at gun buybacks in Asbury Park and Keansburg churches last weekend, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa [pictured above at podium] has announced.
The firearms collected from Asbury Park comprise almost half of the 1,581 brought in through the buybacks, Police Chief Mark Kinmon said today.
“This buyback was another success and another step forward in our ongoing effort to make New Jersey safer by taking guns off the street,” Chiesa said during a press conference held at the Monmouth County Police Academy in Freehold yesterday.
Some of the weapons brought in this past weekend included 761 handguns, 409 rifles and 356 shotguns. All but 40 of the firearms were operable. At the press conference, the weapons collected last weekend were laid out on a table in front of law enforcement officials [pictured above and at right].
Forty-five of the guns collected last weekend were illegal, including 12 sawed-off shotguns, one 12-gauge shotgun with a “streetsweeper” drum cartridge, a Tech-9 semi-automatic pistol, an AK-47 assault rifle and three M-1 type assault rifles.
Counting the illegal firearms received in Monmouth County, state-led buybacks have resulted in the removal of a total of 7,092 guns — 1,000 of which were illegal due to modifications or large magazines.
“Every gun turned in during this program had the potential to harm someone, whether intentionally or accidentally, because no one is immune to the potential of gun violence, especially police officers and any of our sons and daughters,” Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said. “The voluntary surrender of these weapons simply makes our streets and neighborhoods safer.”
A total of $209,175 in state and county criminal forfeiture funds were used to buy back the firearms. Participants could turn in up to three firearms, no questions asked, and could receive $50 to $250 per weapon.
Gun buybacks alone can’t solve the complex and multi-faceted problem of gun violence, Chiesa said, but he called them a crucial element of a broader strategy aimed at reducing shooting deaths and injuries in New Jersey.
“There is no question that buybacks are part of the overall solution,” Chiesa said. “And we believe they’re making a real difference throughout our state, particularly in light of the hundreds of illegal guns we’ve been able to take out of circulation.”
A buyback held in Camden County last December yielded 1,137 guns, and a buyback in Mercer County in January brought in another 2,604 firearms. A February buyback held in Essex County resulted in the collection of another 1,770 guns.
The Monmouth buyback event was a cooperative effort involving the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the faith-based community in Monmouth County.
The Shiloh Community Fellowship Ministry in Asbury Park hosted the city’s buyback, and the Saint Ann Catholic Church hosted the buyback in Keansburg.
