Long Beach to host gun buyback Saturday

The Long Beach Police Department, in conjunction with Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano, Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas and Acting Police Commissioner Tom Krumpter, will host a gun buyback event on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Christian Light Baptist Church, at 620 Park Place.

Asset forfeiture funds from the Nassau County Police Department and Singas’ office are utilized to fund the buyback program, which is strictly anonymous. Individuals are paid $100 cash for every turned in operable rifle, $200 cash for each turned in operable handgun and $400 cash for each turned in operable assault rifle. No licensed guns, BB guns, air pistols or replicas will be accepted. Guns must be transported in the trunk of the car, unloaded and placed in a shoebox, or plastic or paper bag.

“Our gun buyback programs have taken thousands of guns off of Nassau streets, and this event in Long Beach is another important step in our ongoing fight to eliminate the threat of gun violence,” Singas said in a statement. “I thank Christian Light Baptist Church and the Long Beach and Nassau County Police Departments for partnering with us to get dangerous and illegal firearms out of our communities.”

The event comes on the heels of a recent string of recent shootings in Long Beach, particularly in the North Park neighborhood. A shot was fired into the air on July 6 during an argument at Channel Park Homes, less than a month after a 4-year-old boy at the housing complex was grazed by a stray bullet on June 19 when an argument between two men outside of his home escalated. Also in June, the LBPD arrested Wyoming Avenue resident Brian Kelly in connection with an early morning shooting that occurred in the West End on June 16.