Attorney General James: 505 guns turned in at Niagara Falls buyback

More than 3,000 guns turned in throughout New York

√ AG James has taken more than 7,000 firearms out of communities since 2019

Submitted by the Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced 505 firearms were turned in at a community gun buyback event hosted by her office, Mayor Robert Restaino, and the Niagara Falls Police Department. This event – the largest gun buyback hosted by the Office of the Attorney General in Western New York – was part of James’ historic effort to hold nine simultaneous gun buyback events on the same day in communities throughout the state. Including the guns turned in at the Niagara Falls event, James secured more than 3,000 guns from across the state. To date, the attorney general has removed more than 7,000 guns from New York communities since taking office in 2019.

“Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers,” James said. “Through our partnership with local law enforcement and public officials, we were able to organize this historic, single-day gun buyback event in nine locations throughout New York state. Every gun that we removed out of Niagara Falls homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted, and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.”

Guns recovered from Saturday’s Niagara Falls gun buyback on Statewide Gun Buyback Day. (Submitted photo)

••••••••

The statewide gun buyback resulted in the collection of more than 3,000 guns, including 185 assault rifles, 1,656 handguns and 823 long guns. These figures include the 505 guns collected from the Niagara Falls event, which included 19 assault rifles, 280 handguns and 106 long guns. Altogether, James has removed more than 7,000 guns from New York communities since taking office in 2019.

“We appreciate the commitment of Attorney General James to reduce guns in our city,” Restaino said. “This program continues that commitment, and we are pleased to partner with her in this effort.”

“We applaud Attorney General Letitia James for continuing to take proactive steps to keep our communities safe,” said Shari Maurer, volunteer, New York Chapter of Moms Demand Action. “New York is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to a multifaceted approach to saving lives, and we look forward to continuing to partner with her office and lawmakers to keep New York a national leader in the gun safety movement.”

“New York continues to be a national leader in smart, effective gun laws. And as a result, it has one of the lowest gun death rates in the country – 63% below the national average,” said David Pucino, deputy chief counsel, Giffords Law Center. “Attorney General James's leadership has been critical to New York's success in fighting gun violence, but there is more work to do. This weekend’s buyback will get more potentially dangerous guns off the streets. And while we can never know whose lives will be saved by this initiative, we know fewer families will be victimized by gun violence. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”