Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announces gun buyback

Operable Handguns and Assault Rifles Can Be Turned Over for $200, No Questions Asked

August 22, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson will host a Gun Buyback event in Flatbush on Saturday. Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese

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Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson on Monday announced that his office, in collaboration with the NYPD, is hosting a Gun Buyback event this coming Saturday, Aug. 27, to help people dispose of unwanted guns that they possess in exchange for cash. No questions will be asked and no ID required from those who turn in their guns.

“Saturday’s Gun Buyback is one component of our efforts to rid Brooklyn’s streets of illegal firearms,” said Thompson. “With law enforcement and community working together, we make our communities safer. I encourage anyone with an unwanted gun to take advantage of this important initiative.”

“Gun violence and gun accidents adversely affect far too many lives in our communities. Gun buyback programs provide the opportunity and incentive to keep dangerous weapons off the streets of our city. I urge everyone to participate in this important program,” New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.

Saturday’s event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clarendon Road Church, located at 3304 Clarendon Road in Flatbush.

The DA’s Office and the NYPD will offer money in the form of $200 bank cards for each operable gun turned in. The bank cards will be issued after each unloaded gun is received and screened by officers onsite. Guns should be unloaded and packaged in a paper or plastic bag or box when brought to the event. Both working and inoperable weapons will be accepted. Active and/or retired law enforcement officers and licensed gun dealers are not eligible for this event.

Participants will receive $200 for operable handguns and assault rifles and $25 for operable shotguns and rifles. Participants may turn in an unlimited number of guns, but will receive a limit of $600 in bank cards. No identification is required and the firearms will be accepted with no questions asked.

The NYPD, pairing with local DA’s offices, has taken about 10,000 guns off the street via gun buyback events since 2008.
—Information from the Brooklyn DA’s Office