Thursday, April 11, 2013
Residents turn in 1,302 weapons, with the Somerset forfeiture fund paying out $133,150.
To Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, the 1,302 rifles, shotguns, handguns and assault weapons purchased over the course of the county's first gun buyback program last week was an "outstanding success." "Why did we do all this? Our rationale, our goal — which is consistent with the Attorney General's policy — was to reduce the risk of injury, threat of accidental harm or injuries, reduce the number of firearms available for the commission of crimes and reduce crimes overall," Soriano said, during a news conference at his Somerville office. "It's all about removing unwanted guns from our community." Soriano referenced the shooting death of a 6-year-old in Toms River Tuesday more than once during the conference, which included a…
Monday, April 8, 2013
Nearly 10,000 guns have been turned in across the state since the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Authorities say the massacre prompted residents to rid their homes of guns.
The doors of two Camden churches swung open shortly after daybreak on Dec. 14, with law enforcement officials inside hoping a two-day cash-for-guns program might help put a dent in the crime rate in one of America’s most violent cities. But just 90 minutes after people began to trickle into the churches, a troubled 20-year-old named Adam Lanza shot his way into an elementary school in a small Connecticut town as idyllic as Camden is gritty. As the scope of the school massacre came into focus that afternoon – 20 children and six adults lie dead – the trickle of people with guns to surrender grew into a stream and, by the following morning, a torrent. Officials collected 1,137 firearms during those two days in Camden, the most successful gun…
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Those who turn in their guns will receive money.
Somerset County is holding a gun buyback program on two separate days in four locations around the county, with no questions asked. The program will be held April 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and April 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be four locations—the Community Service Center on Stonehouse Road in Bernards Township, the First Baptist Church on Somerset Street in Somerset, the Community Baptist Church on Grove Street in North Plainfield; and St. John Episcopal on West High Street in Somerville. According to a release from the Bridgewater Township Police, unloaded guns should be wrapped and tied or taped, then put in a box, bag or case to be sold back. The program will pay $100 for operable handguns, $100 for operable rifles/shotguns and…
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Richard Palumbo, moved by Connecticut school shooting, gains support for Somerset County initiative.
A Basking Ridge man's inspiration to put up some of his own money to buy back unwanted and illegal guns as a way of preventing potential shooting tragedies has been gaining support through private donations and the help of Somerset County law enforcement authorities, he said. Like many people, Basking Ridge resident Richard Palumbo watched the news about last month's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., wishing there was something he could do to help. For Palumbo, the sympathy for the families of the children who were killed was made more acute because he himself has children, ages 5 and 8. He also noted that Basking Ridge, the community where he and his wife live and his children attend school, is remarkably like Newtown in many ways. But …
Concerned
5:13 pm on Friday, April 12, 2013
Would it be more productive to have these gun buybacks in the inner cities rather than disarming the suburbs? more ›