In one of his last acts as Buffalo Mayor before announcing his resignation earlier today, Byron Brown issued an Executive Order establishing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the City of Buffalo.
The order takes effect immediately.
The new office has been created in response to the events of May 14, 2022, when a gunman killed 10 people and injured three others in a racially motivated mass shooting at the Tops grocery store on Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue.
Brown states in the order that the office sits within the Division of Citizen Services and is intended to work in tandem with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. That national office was established in 2023 after White House officials visited the site of 5/14 in the days following the shooting.
“We will work side by side with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to bring best practices for law enforcement and community-based intervention strategies back to the city of Buffalo,” Brown declared.
Buffalo Common Councilmember Zeneta Everhart has been a leading proponent for a Buffalo-based office of gun violence prevention and introduced a resolution to establish one in July. Everhart’s son, Zaire Goodman, was one of three people injured in the 5/14 attack.
Speaking in July, Everhart said: “We need the office of gun violence and prevention in the city of Buffalo. It is time. I am tired. I'm exhausted. I'm tired of hearing people talk about gun violence …our community deserves better, and it has to start in government.”
The office will serve as a “centralized hub” to connect those affected by gun violence with available - though often underutilized - services according to the order. The city will form a partnership with BestSelf behavioral Health as part of these services.
The order assigns the Division of Citizen Services’ Community Crime Prevention Manager and the Save Our Streets Coordinator to staff the office, and directs staff to research and apply for grant funding to help address gun violence in the community.
In addition, the city will hire an anti-violence coordinator, funded by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) grant. That person will “oversee the implementation of prevention-based strategies to combat gun violence within the Police Department,” according to the executive order, though no timeline was given for the appointment.
According to Brown, there has been a “significant decrease” in gun violence in Buffalo with shooting incidents down 28%, shooting victims down 32%, and shooting homicides down 58% in 2023. Earlier this month New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that gun violence in the state is down by 47% since she took office.
There were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2022 according to the CDC. That's about 132 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day. More than half of firearm-related deaths were suicides and more than four out of every 10 were firearm homicides.
