Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said the city is “actively looking into” a gun buyback program after the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Damon Murray last month.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“In response to the recent death in Hoboken, we’re actively looking into what’s called a gun buyback program in Hoboken,” Bhalla said at a candidate forum on Monday evening for the four people running for Congress in the 8th District.
Bhalla is running as a Democrat in the June 4th primary, where he looks to unseat U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8).
He did not elaborate on any additional details of the program and city spokeswomen did not return an email seeking comment on Tuesday.
If elected to the House, Bhalla also said he had four initiatives in mind: banning assault rifles, advocating for increased mental health services, strengthening background checks, and shoring up “red flag” laws that limits certain people from possession firearms.
“This is also a holistic-economic issue: When people don’t have the opportunities that they need economically, they have nowhere to go, and they go in a direction that leads to gun violence – it’s a much broader conversation – but these are four specific things that I’ll do as a member of Congress.”
Last week, Bhalla announced that Hoboken would be naming the gym at 605 Jackson St. after the late Murray, a Hoboken High School graduate who was a standout baseball and football player who ended up being a gridiron walk-on at Rutgers University.
The “Damon Murray Community Gym” will be dedicated at a date to be determined this summer.
In the wake of his killing, friends and family members have called on the city and police department to do more for underserved communities, with three council members suggesting to bring back a police precinct at the HHA.
Albert Morales, 33, of North Bergen, was charged with Murray’s murder by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at the end of last month.