BOSTON (CBS) – Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Saturday he plans to hold a gun buyback program in the city to deal with the recent spike in violence.
The announcement came a day after a 9-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed at his home in Mattapan.
Police say the boy’s 14-year-old brother was handling a gun recklessly when he fired it.
A source told WBZ-TV Saturday the 4th grader was playing a video game when his teen brother pulled the trigger of a pistol.
The 9-year-old died at the hospital after he was shot once in the chest.
Walsh believes this tragedy could be a catalyst for change.
“I’m working with the commissioner a little bit now to come up with how we’re going to formulate the gun buyback program,” he said, but admitted it’s “a short-term solution.”
In the past five years, Walsh said more than 3,000 guns have been taken out of circulation in the city.
Boston police say they’ve managed to remove 45 guns from the street so far this year.
Walsh said that’s not enough.
“We need help from the community, we need help from people to let us know where these guns are, who has these guns who are bringing these guns in, so we can get them off the street,” he said.
Mattapan resident Janetha Busby says she want guns off the streets and out of their neighborhood for good. “
If you’re a policeman, if you’re in law enforcement, you should have a gun. But no regular person should have a gun in their house, not with kids around,” she told WBZ-TV.
The 14-year-old will be arraigned Monday in the Juvenile Session of Dorchester Municipal Court.
His name is not being released because of his age.
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