‘Dr. King would be proud’
All $5,000 offered for gun buyback program in Homewood claimed in 45 minutes
A budgeted $5,000 was given away within 45 minutes Monday morning during a gun buyback at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Homewood — an “unimaginable” response from a community that hadn’t seen such an occasion since the early 2000s.
“We were told by the [police] chief to get a least 100 guns off the street,” said head priest the Rev. Torrey Johnson on Monday, after he informed people that they had run out of money to give for surrendered weapons. “He told us if we got 100 guns off the street, he’d be shocked.”
And the church did better than that for the event tied to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
By 3 p.m. at the end of the buyback, a total of 148 weapons had been surrendered — 104 were handguns, and 44 were rifles and shotguns. Of the long guns, one was an AK-47 and another an AR15, both sometimes referred to as assault weapons, church leaders said. And although the pool of money designated for the event had evaporated within an hour, community members donated an additional $1,500 in checks and cash during the last couple of hours of the event.
State Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington, briefly stopped by and donated as well. He called the community’s response “powerful” as he shook hands and spoke with church officials about ways he could help.
Several people were lined up outside the 100-year-old church before the 10 a.m. start, Rev. Johnson said. Many people decided to hand over their weapons anyway after the money ran out. The church gave up to $100 for the surrendered guns, depending on the type.
“There’s a longing in the church,” Rev. Johnson said. “We have to be concerned about our brothers and sisters beyond worship attendance, beyond normal financial tithes and offerings.” He specified the significance of getting guns off the streets — and on Dr. King’s birthday — after a shooting right outside the church doors in November left two people dead.
The larger-than-expected turnout was “unimaginable,” Rev. Johnson said as he stood outside the church in the cold and greeted several people who had come to participate.
“God bless you,” he told them. “Thank you for coming today. I’m sorry to tell you that we’ve run out of money. But I encourage you to give your weapons anyway.”
Holy Cross, the Episcopal Lutheran Alliance, Homewood Ministries and others came up with the gun buyback idea and raised the money about three to four weeks ago, church leaders said. They partnered with Pittsburgh police as well, but the city did not contribute to the raised funds.
City police provided assistance for the event, ensuring surrendered weapons were authentic and not loaded. BB guns were also accepted, although payment was not provided for them. After Monday’s turnout, Rev. Johnson said they hope to raise more money in the future and make it an annual affair.
“Dr. King himself would be proud,” said 27-year-old Darius McGhee, of the North Side.
“I saw on the news that they were doing a gun buyback and just thinking that it’s in the spirit of Dr. King, there was something that just kind of drew me to it,” Mr. McGhee said.
“I’m glad that people came to take advantage of it,” he said. “The best part to me is that they are destroying the guns . ... Cops aren’t just saving the guns — they’re going to get destroyed and melted.” The weapons will be processed and eventually destroyed, city police said.
Mike Crossey said he drove nearly an hour from his South Fayette home to participate in the gun buyback. Previous attempts to sell his two handguns to local gun stores were unsuccessful, he said. When told they were out of money, his response was, “I don’t care about the money, that’s not what’s important.
“My kids are grown, but I have grandkids now,” said Mr. Crossey, 69. “I thought, let’s get rid of this so it never ends up on the streets. It’s a matter of making the streets safer.”
Some people were a little disgruntled, however.
“You shouldn’t tell people stuff like that and have them burn up gas,” said Gordon Johnson, 80, of the Hill District. “They said 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it wasn’t even an hour and all the money is gone.”
But Mr. Johnson, who had brought a BB gun and an old rusted handgun, also said he was happy to rid his home of the weapons anyway, due to having young grandchildren at home. Someone left the weapons in his yard years ago, and he put them away.
“You never know what kids are going to do,” he said.