With an uptick in youth violence this year, Albany County officials are taking a step to take guns off the street with a new buyback initiative.
Last week, a community basketball tournament in Albany's Washington Park was interrupted after shots were fired nearby.
Moments after hearing gunshots, city police arrested a 16-year-old boy in the park who was in possession of a loaded revolver. At the time, volunteers from anti-violence organization SNUG were attending the tournament.
SNUG's Andre Morris told WAMC he believes the spate of gun violence has its origins with isolation and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What you're seeing is not just gun violence. This was you're talking about people who've been traumatized for so long. This is a generation of trauma, right? That has not been treated or addressed, right? So this is what you're seeing as effect from the crack era, [and] from the pandemic," said Morris.
On Thursday, county officials announced a gun buyback initiative, where anyone can exchange an operable weapon for cash.
Sheriff Craig Apple says gun proliferation in Albany needs addressing - now.
"Anybody can be reactive, but haven't we picked up enough dead bodies? Haven't we seen enough people go to the hospital, shot? Haven't we seen enough people stabbed locally? Haven't we seen enough, you know, chaos in our streets? So we're going to listen. A lot of people will say, 'Yeah, gun buybacks don't work.' Well, it's tough, right? It's like the SAFE Act. Did that work? We don't know, right? You can skew the numbers any way you want, but if I'm getting handguns off the street, I'm removing crimes of opportunity," Apple said.
The Preventing Endangerment And Criminal Exposure, or PEACE program, offers $350 in for operable handguns and $750 for credible tips leading to the recovery of illegal guns.
Apple says many local weapons have either been purchased legally out-of-state or are "ghost guns" assembled using components purchased online.
Local businessman James Morrell pledged $10,000 to support the program and promises he'll dig deeper into his wallet if needed.
"When we were kids, disputes were handled by fists or a fight, and you would shake hands and walk away afterwards. Now, because of this crazy availability of cheap guns, it puts the potential for life altering decisions in child as young as 13,14,15,16, and they have access to these guns, and they can make decisions that are not thought through and can end a life, or they can change their life. We need to take away this opportunity," Morrell said.
For those looking to take advantage of the effort, Sheriff Apple promises total anonymity.
"If you know somebody with a gun, maybe it's your brother, maybe it's your sister, mother, father, relative, loved one, kid you hang out with, I'll give you $750 for that handgun if we recover it. I'll do anything at this point to get these guns out of the hands of our children and our community," Apple said.
The dedicated PEACE hotline is 518-655-7860.
