N.J. gun buyback nets nearly 1,600 weapons

Carol Gorga Williams,The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press | USATODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Over 1,500 guns obtained in gun buyback More than 1,500 guns were obtained in the state-sponsored gun buyback Incentive in New Jersey. Staff video by Tanya Breen

1%2C581 guns were surrendered over two days

Four buybacks since December have yielded nearly 7%2C100 guns

Participants were paid %2425 to %24250 for working and nonworking weapons

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- A two-day, two-city guns-for-cash program cleared the streets of nearly 1,600 guns -- including 15 assault weapons and a "street sweeper."

"That is an impressive number of guns," state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said Tuesday of the buyback program over the weekend at two church-related locations in Asbury Park and Keansburg.

Officials have determined that 45 of the 1,581 guns turned in -- including 761 handguns, 409 rifles, and 356 shotguns -- were illegal weapons. The most menacing weapons included 12 sawed-off shotguns, a 12-gauge shotgun with a so-called "street sweeper" drum cartridge, a Tech-9 semiautomatic pistol, an AK-47 assault rifle and three M-1 assault rifles.

All but 40 of the surrendered weapons "were operable and capable of taking a life," Chiesa said.

"I'm not here to say it is the answer to the problem of gun violence in New Jersey, but it is part of the answer," Chiesa said.

Participants were offered from $25 for an inoperable handgun to $250 for an operable assault weapon, resulting in a $209,175 cost to local officials for the program. The funds came from forfeiture, money taken from drug dealers and gang members, Chiesa said.

Many of the surrendered handguns were "community guns" -- weapons kept in a common location and used over and over again to commit crimes by those who know of its availability.

Of the weapons seized, Chiesa singled out the street sweeper, a shotgun capable of firing more than 10 rounds at once.

"A street sweeper has only one purpose: to sweep human beings off the street quickly and efficiently," said Chiesa, whose office worked to organize the program with the state Division of Criminal Justice, acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, State Police, police chiefs in Asbury Park and Keansburg, and the region's faith-based community.

Asbury Park Police Chief Mark Kinmon said the gun buyback program is part of a series of city responses to gun violence and juvenile crime that are beginning to show promise.

"I think the message is loud and clear: we are all going

to do all we can to address gun violence," he said in an interview last week. "Programs like this can be very helpful."

While Kinmon is not sure the cash is the primary motivation when people decide to surrender their weapons, he acknowledges that "if you are looking to do the right thing -- and there is absolutely no reason to possess a weapon -- then it is good you are going to receive something for it."

Because the guns were accumulated during an amnesty program, it would be counterproductive to charge anyone who surrendered their guns with a crime, Chiesa explained.

Authorities designed the program to be a "no questions asked," and those surrendering the guns were not required to show identification.

"I'd rather get the guns (in this way) than have to have a police officer ... take them off the streets," said Chiesa.

Authorities will determine whether any of the surrendered guns previously had been reported stolen, and if so, the owners will be given the option of having them returned.

But the bulk of the haul will be targeted for destruction.

The latest of the state-sanctioned gun buyback programs, which began in December, brings the number of surrendered weapons to nearly 7,100.

"That is 7,100 guns that will never be used to commit a crime or take the life of an innocent person and that will never go off by accident, killing a curious child," Chiesa said.

"Every gun turned in during this program had the potential to harm someone -- either intentionally or accidentally, because no one is immune to the potential of gun violence, especially police officers and any of our sons and daughters," Gramiccioni said after the conference. "The voluntary surrender of these weapons simply makes our streets and neighborhoods safer."