QUEENS — Nearly 30 weapons were surrendered during a gun buyback event held this weekend to memorialize a 14-year old girl who died after being shot on a city bus in May, the Queens Borough President’s office announced Monday.
Some 29 firearms were surrendered at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church on Smith Street in South Jamaica, about half a mile from where the May 18 shooting took place.
D’aja Robinson was shot to death on a Q6 bus on her way home from a Sweet 16 party.
“We succeeded in getting 29 dangerous weapons off our borough’s streets,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall who put in $50,000 to support the program. “Our haul included eight semi-automatic weapons, which are the most problematic in terms of street crime.”
The surrendered weapons also included 17 revolvers, three BB and starter pistols, and one rifle. Three of the surrendered guns were loaded, according to the police.
The buyback program gives people an opportunity to get paid for getting rid of their guns anonymously, with no questions asked.
A $200 bank card was given in exchange for each working handgun or assault file. People who dropped off working shotgun or conventional rifle received a $20 card.
Marshall and the NYPD co-sponsored a similar event last year that netted 55 guns.
“While we obtained fewer guns this year than last, we still succeeded in reducing the chances of Queens residents being killed or wounded by firearms,” Marshall added. “Who knows what we will end up preventing?”
