BROOKLYN, NY (PIX11)—Brooklyn officials are trying to fight gun violence with a gun buyback event held Saturday in Bed-Stuy.
For Michelle Barnes-Anderson, the mission is deeply personal after losing her only son to a shooting in the borough.
“To live without my child is the worst thing in the world you could ever do,” she said. “It feels like bricks every morning getting out the bed.”
Her son, Melquain Jatelle Anderson, was gunned down at a bus stop near the Farragut Houses in 2017. Today, the pain of his death still lives with his family.
“That is a day that we will never forget,” said Xenia Barnes, Melquain’s aunt.
She added, “Not only did I lose my nephew, but I lost a huge part of my sister that I will never be able to get back.”
Since then, the family has been committed to breaking the cycle of violence. That’s why they support events like the gun buyback hosted by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. The event at Cornerstone Baptist Church is part of an ongoing effort to reduce gun violence across the borough.
“NYPD has taken thousands of guns off the streets through enforcement,” Gonzalez said. “My office has prosecuted thousands of cases, but there has to be other solutions and one of the solutions is coming to the community and saying help us get guns off the street.”
According to Gonzalez, 195 illegal firearms were turned in anonymously at the event in exchange for $500. NYPD data shows gun violence is down nearly 23 percent compared to this time last year. Still, with the city already experiencing 141 shooting incidents in 2025, Gonzalez said the fight to combat gun violence remains ongoing.
“I see the devastation that gun violence brings to families and to communities,” said Gonzalez.
He added, “I understand how their sense of safety and security has been forever altered and the trauma that they face so we want to make sure guns are off our streets.”
Michelle and Xenia plan to continue their fight for safer communities—not only for Melquain but for every family who’s experienced what they have.
“It has shaped us in a different way to where we have mobilized to make sure that we can bring programs and different resources to the community,” Xenia said.
Gonzalez said his office has helped remove around 600 guns from the streets through gun buyback events held over the past few years — each one representing a hope that future tragedies might be prevented.
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