Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante, and Police Chief Steven Aguiar today announced the City collected more than 160 guns during its successful gun buyback program on Saturday, June 22, held in an effort to reduce the potential for gun violence in and around Hoboken.
The event, hosted by the Hoboken Police Department, was held at Police Headquarters.
Residents were invited to voluntarily surrender up to three firearms, with no questions asked, in exchange for cash payments up to $350 using American Rescue Plan funding. The Hoboken Police Department collected a total of 166 firearms, including:
“Damon Murray's tragic passing was a painful reminder of the impact of gun violence on our community, and I'm happy we are taking strong measures to take guns off our streets,” said Mayor Bhalla. “Thank you to the Hoboken Police Department, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and Attorney General Matthew Platkin for working with my administration to host this successful buyback program.”
“The gun buyback exceeded all of our expectations, and I thank all of those involved in organizing, approving, and operating the successful event,” said Director Ferrante. “We have said all along that if just one gun was collected, it would be one less potential weapon in our community, but in the end, we managed to secure dozens of firearms that otherwise could have been stolen and used in a crime or been accidentally found and fired by a child.”
“We may not be able to end gun violence, but we have to do everything in our power to try to get illegal and unwanted guns out of our community,” said Chief Aguiar. “I thank my entire team for working so diligently to create a smooth, successful, and safe event, in an important effort to prevent senseless violence and tragedies.”
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