In wake of youth’s death, parents start gun buyback

In 2018, Ethan Song sat at the breakfast table with his mother, Kristin, telling her how he planned to go to college, wanted to join the Army and planned to one day have seven kids.

The 15-year-old then went to his best friend’s house, where he died from an accidental gunshot wound.

Ethan was killed when he and his 14-year-old friend began playing with a gun, as they had on previous occasions, according to a report by Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt in November 2018.

The gun’s owner, Dan Markle, was not charged because prosecutors said they could not prove he knew the guns were loaded. However, Markle’s son was charged with manslaughter.

The case prompted the passage of Ethan’s Law, which allows prosecution in an accidental death regardless if the owner knew the weapon was loaded.

Kristin and her husband, Mike Song, are now advocates for safe storage of weapons and have organized a series of gun buybacks this weekend.

The Ethan Miller Song Foundation is partnering with other organizations and police departments across Connecticut to hold the first #KeepKidsSafe statewide gun buyback and

gun safe giveaway day on Saturday.

The buybacks will be held in Guilford, Norwalk, Hartford, Newtown, Stamford, Waterbury and Bridgeport from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For gun owners who want to keep their weapons but seek a better way to secure them, a limited supply of biometric gun safes will be provided for free to those with a valid gun permit.

After holding smaller events, this will be the first statewide buyback the Songs have organized.

“Part of the reason we wanted to do the statewide one also was to just elevate the conversation about safe storage,” Kristin Song said.

Every buyback is anonymous, with no ID required or questions asked except for Norwalk, where identification is needed.

Stamford Police Sgt. William Brevard said $25 will be paid for single- or double-shot handguns, $50 for rifles and shotguns, $100 for pistol and revolver handguns and $200 for assault rifles. No newly sawed-off shotguns will be accepted, Brevard said.

The guns must be operable to receive Visa gift cards, Brevard said.

All the guns collected will be destroyed, and some of the scraps will be repurposed into gardening tools, Brevard said.

“The premise of it is taking something that is destructive and can end someone’s life and making it into tool that can actually provide life,” Brevard said.

Guns must be transported in the trunk of a car and delivered unloaded in clear plastic bags, with any ammunition in a separate bag in the trunk of the car.

Last year, Guilford police collected 198 firearms, which included 21 BB/pellet guns, three Derringer types, 90 handguns, 79 rifles and five assault weapons.

In June 2020, Hartford police collected a total of 59 guns, including 41 handguns, eight rifles, nine shotguns and one assault rifle.

Kristin Song said she does not want to take guns from people, only the firearms that are not wanted. But she is a vocal advocate for safe storage.

“My position is if Ethan would have been saved, that would have been success,” she said. “If I can save your kid, that’s totally successful. One child, one person dying, changes the world.”

The gun buyback events will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stamford Police Department, 725 Bedford St.; Bridgeport Police Department, 1395 Sylvan Ave.; Guilford Police Department, 400 Church St.; Hartford Public Works Department, 50 Jennings Road; Newtown Police Department, 191 S. Main St.; Trinity Health of New England in Waterbury, 15 West Dover St.; and Norwalk Police Department, 1 Monroe St.

Kristin Song / Contributed photo Ethan Song, who accidentally shot and killed himself at a friend's house in January 2018, is pictured here with parents Kristin and Mike Song.

Contributed Photo / Stamford Police Department Police are hosting a gun buyback at the Stamford, Bridgeport and Newtown police departments and others in the state, on Saturday.