WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) — A gun buyback program is being called a big success after 49 guns were taken off the streets of Manhattan.
The illegal weapons included automatic pistols, high caliber revolvers, a Mac 10 machine gun, rifles and assault weapons.
They were all turned in Saturday afternoon anonymously, no questions asked, at a gun buyback at the Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Washington Heights.
To Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, buybacks play an important role in trying to stop the senseless gun violence in this city.
“Every gun we get off the street is a life saved,” Bragg told PIX11 News.
A Mother’s Promise, in partnership with New York State Senator Robert Jackson and the Oyate group, sponsored the drive.
Jackie Rowe Adams, who’s lost two sons to gun violence, said the gun buyback will help.
“It’s 49 guns off the street and 49 lives will be saved,” Adams told PIX11 News.
The buyback offered $500 prepaid cards for operable handguns and assault rifles, $150 for a rifle or shotgun and $50 cards for BB guns and imitation pistols. Organizers said it will make a difference.
“We are giving people $500 to save lives and make sure something is happening to these illegal guns,” NYPD Inspector Maximo Tolentino told PIX 11 News.
