Peekskill's Gun Buyback Overwhelmed By Success

PEEKSKILL, NY — Peekskill's gun buyback, supported with $22,000 raised by the community, was a complete success this weekend. In fact, they exhausted their funding within just a few hours of opening up, after buying 185 guns, including 97 handguns and two assault rifles.

As the next step, local artist and blacksmith Geoff Feder will be turning all those bought guns into a sculpture, to be displayed in the city. That was part of the creative fundraising plan for this buyback, the first in five years: the money raised in a collaborative effort with the Peekskill Police Department, the Lanza Family Foundation, and the River Outpost Brewing Co.

SEE: Creativity Combats Gun Violence: PeaceSkill Family Fun Day

Police Chief Donald Halmy issued a statement:

This past Saturday, September 15, 2018, the Peekskill Police Hosted a Gun Buyback Event at the United Methodist Church. This event, which was designed to get unwanted and/or unsecured guns off the street and out of people’s homes, was a tremendous success.

Over the course of this event, a total of 185 guns were turned into the police. These guns consisted of 97 handguns, 2 assault rifles, and 86 shotguns and rifles. All of these guns, from the smallest to the largest, the oldest to the newest and the cheapest to the most expensive, had the same thing in common, they were unwanted and were potentially deadly in the wrong hands.

Although this program was “no questions asked”, many people were eager to talk about the guns.

A recurring sentiment from many of the participants was how they never felt comfortable having a gun in a shoebox somewhere, or in dresser or a closet, easily accessible to someone who may find it. Others stated that they had young children in the house and did not feel comfortable keeping it any longer. Whatever the reason, every little bit helps when it comes to making the city of Peekskill a safer place and we believe we accomplished that this past weekend

The Peekskill Police Department would like to thank all those people that helped to make this event happen. From start to finish, Deputy Mayor Talbot, who with the support of the Mayor and the Council, worked tirelessly to put everything in place to make sure the event was successful. A very special thanks goes out to Louie Lanza and John Sharpe who graciously hosted a fundraiser at the River Outpost Brewery. This fundraiser, which was staffed by volunteer members of the Peekskill Police Benevolent Association, raised an amazing $15,000 back in June. Without the help of Mr. Lanza and Mr. Sharpe, as well as the PBA, we would have recovered a mere fraction of the guns we actually received. We’d also like to thank all the people who showed up at the fundraiser to support us and all the many donors, like the Ginsberg Development Corp, who generously donated to this cause. Of course this event could not have taken place without the help of the United Methodist Church of Peekskill and the support of Rev. Carlos Figueroa Colombani as well. Finally, we would like to thank all of those people who participated in this event in the hopes of making Peekskill an even safer place to live!

There was so much on offer that the event didn't end up running for the entire time. They had planned to be open for six hours but had used up all the money in 2.5.

PHOTO/ Peekskill Police Department on Facebook