Attorney General James Announces 84 Guns Turned in at Community Gun Buyback in Central New York

 

AG James Has Taken More Than 2,300 Firearms Out of Communities Since 2019

 New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that 84 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at a gun buyback event in the city of Rome hosted by her office and the Rome Police Department yesterday. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accepts — with no questions asked — working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. To date, Attorney General James has taken more than 2,300 firearms out of communities through gun buyback events and other efforts since taking office in 2019.

“Gun buyback programs are essential to protecting New Yorkers and preventing dangerous guns from ending up in the wrong hands,” said Attorney General James. “The threat of gun violence has loomed over our communities for far too long, and it is imperative that we take every step possible to eradicate this violence. My office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to keep our neighborhoods safe, and we thank the Rome Police Department for their invaluable support and partnership in this effort.”

“The Rome Police Department appreciates the partnership and support of the Attorney General’s Office and the community to make this gun buyback successful,” said the Rome Police Department’s Community Impact Unit. “We are grateful for the opportunity to get guns off the street, preventing them from falling into the wrong hands, and keeping the community safe. We are very supportive of any proactive approach to put an end to and prevent gun violence.”

The community gun buyback resulted in the collection of 84 guns, including 30 handguns, 34 shotguns and rifles, and 20 non-working guns. Since 2013, OAG has hosted gun buyback events throughout New York state and has successfully collected more than 4,300 firearms.

In exchange for the firearms, OAG offered monetary compensation, in the form of prepaid gift cards, when an unloaded gun was received and secured by an officer on site.

Gun violence is a public health crisis that is plaguing communities throughout New York, and this event is the latest action that Attorney General James has taken to combat this crisis and protect New Yorkers from harm. This year alone, Attorney General James has held 14 gun buybacks across the state, and has also secured dozens of dangerous firearms through takedowns of violent groups terrorizing New York. Earlier this year, Attorney General James announced the takedown of two major drug trafficking rings in Central New York, in which 15 guns, including nine ghost guns, were seized. To date, Attorney General James has taken a total of more than 2,300 guns out of communities since 2019.