Posted on 04/28/2007 7:08:18 AM PDT by holymoly
Cops waited. TV crews waited. And church officials standing under the broiling sun in South Los Angeles waited, hoping Angelenos would come and surrender their guns.
They got only one — but it was an SSK assault rifle, along with enough ammunition to blow away 59 bystanders.
"You would not believe what we got," exclaimed LAPD Officer Brian Hun of the Southwest Division. "It's like catching the big one."
With the 15th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots approaching, ministers from the First AME Church asked residents to hand in their guns during a commemorative Weekend of Peace.
The region — with four homicides, 23 people shot and 40 gunfire reports in the Southwest Division between March 25 and April 21 — is among the most violent in the city.
It's also among the poorest, with few new jobs created.
For this reason, First AME hosted a gun-surrender program coupled with a massive job fair and food giveaway.
"Turn in your piece for peace," said the Rev. John Joseph Hunter, senior pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. "Violence is something that plagues (this) community.
"With a job, dignity is restored."
Los Angeles is often described as a city divided between haves and have-nots. But for some, it's a city split between those who have guns and those who haven't.
Few expected those with "dirty guns" — or weapons used during a crime — to turn them in. And few expected those whose guns remain the final bastion behind steel security doors to hand over their protection.
"People want to protect themselves; that's why they have guns," said Amelia Quinn, 39, of Los Angeles, a seeker at the job fair. "If somebody steps in your house, shoot on sight."
Today, First AME will host a Dialogues in Peace forum to discuss race relations, education and the economy since 1992.
"You haven't changed the conditions, the mind-sets, the hearts," Hunter said. "You've gotta offer hope. A job offers hope."
To thwart gun violence, the Rev. Eduardo Vickers said, society must convince the young.
"Get them while the clay is soft — you've got to mold them," he said, watching residents line up half a block for food. "The key is love, what the world needs is love, more love."
But for Los Angeles police, what the world needs is fewer guns. The Chinese-made SSK assault rifle with two, 30-round banana clips was dropped off by a dad whose son had long ago left it at his house.
It was the only gun relinquished in three hours of waiting.
"If we can take one gun off the street, it's worth it," said Hun, a senior lead officer for the area. "If a gangster wanted to do a drive-by, it's the ultimate weapon."
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Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com
That's pretty pathetic.
Well, I'm glad that this otherwise monumental waste of time paid off for these losers. The "ultimate weapon", an SKS. Ha! Just imagine what their reaction would have been if someone turned in a Barrett.
Now that's ultimate!
with enough ammunition to blow away 59 bystanders.
The gun owner must be the best shot in the world. /s
Virginia Tech gunman fired off 170 rounds, say investigators
170 rounds. 32 victims.
You can leave a comment at the website.
If you do, you might want to mention that the SKS is NOT an "assault rifle". It is a semi-automatic (only) carbine. Assault rifles are selective-fire.
Sadly, a whole lot of modern, urban coppers have bought into the “guns are evil in the hands of civilians” myth. Many cops in cities today believe they are the only ones who should be armed. These cities - like DC and Chicago - have had anti-gun policies for a generation or more. The cops are conditioned: if a civilian has a gun, that civilian is a criminal. Period.
OHHHH NOOOOO.. the deadly SSK wot can BLOW AWA 59 stybanders!!!! Wow, that sounds dedly n shyt.
You can buy external clips and a mod kit for an SKS.....
30 round “banana’ clips are not uncommon....
To journalists, every firearm is an "assault weapon," except for a few small firearms that are "Saturday night specials." To journalists, anything that falls into one category or the other should be banned.
good thing they've brought out this hugh news.
What a bunch of losers. I remember when you could buy cheap SKS rifles at department stores for $75. I knew a guy who had 30 of them in a closet. lol
I guess if I wanted to move to LA, my two AR15s and their 30 round mags wouldn’t be welcomed.
LOL!
Nice. Disarming citizens so only criminals have guns.
Which would mean that all the ammo they got back could have been bought for something 9.50 plus tax. You could buy the whole kit and caboodle for about what it costs to fill the tank of an H2 hummer with premium gas in California.
Still not an assault rifle, though. For that you need a pistol grip so you can spray fire your bullet hose from the hip.
Oops, my mistake. Enough ammo to shoot one bystander and the reporter 999 times.
Their evil "assault rifle" was probably from the Police evidence room, dropped off by a plain-clothes police officer.
"Quick, get down here with something, so this thing doesn't look like an abject failure, and we don't look like a bunch of complete idiots!"
Lol.
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