Baltimore Archdiocese hosts second gun buyback event to help keep guns off the streets

BALTIMORE --- The Archdiocese of Baltimore is working to get guns off the streets. They partnered with community leaders to host a gun buyback event to provide a safe and legal way to dispose of firearms.

Carrol Sewell was first in line Saturday morning at the Archdiocese of Baltimore's second gun back event at the old Edmonson Square Shopping Center in Southwest Baltimore. 

"The gun thing is getting out of hand. Everybody is crazy with these guns now...I just want to get rid of it," said Carrol Sewell, a Baltimore resident.

Sewell is one of hundreds lining up to safely buy back their firearms.

Last summer, the Archdiocese recovered 362 weapons, including semi-automatic firearms and some guns reported to be stolen. 

But the meaning and message behind the event is bigger.

"Four years ago, my grandson was coming home from school and got caught in the crossfire and got killed," Dorothy Cunningham, President of Irvington Community Association said. "He was 16 years old getting ready to graduate from high school." 

Cunningham works with St. Joseph's Monastery Parish to help get guns off the streets but also raise awareness of gun violence.

"So, this means a lot to me," said Cunningham.

The gun buyback is an extension of the Archdiocese's Grief Ministry, a network working to respond to the needs of homicide victims and their families. 

In the three years since it was established, the ministry has helped relocate families living in witness protection, covered back rent for the parents of young people injured in the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting and paid to bury people who died by violence. 

 "Any narrative that we keep talking and building upon. The issue did matter of peace and the right of a person's human dignity is important," explained Rev. Mike Murphy, pastor at St. Joseph's Monastery Parish. 

It's all in partnership with local leaders and Baltimore Police. 

"There's been too many young people who've got their hands on guns that we need to make sure that they cannot get their hands on," said Richard Worley Baltimore Police Department's Commissioner. 

"And at the same time encourage people to know that their fight against gun violence is a fight that they are not doing by themselves and we're very much a part of that," said Congressional District 8 Representative Kweisi Mfume. "And we need, in fact, find a way to keep this going."

The Catholic parishes and individual donors collected more than $70,000 dollars for the buyback— what's left over will go back to helping their grief ministry.

The gun owners received between $100 to $200 per gun, depending on the model. BPD said once the guns are turned in, they are stored then completely destroyed.

The Archdiocese is working in partnership with Health by Southwest, a coalition of faith leaders and health providers that promote healthy communities and positive determinants of health in Southwest Baltimore. Members include Catholic Charities, Mount Saint Joseph High School, My Brother's Keeper, Saint Agnes Hospital and St. Joseph's Monastery Parish.

The Archdiocese joins the Catholic Church in Chicago, New York and other cities that have recently partnered with law enforcement on successful gun buyback events.