Charles Tassell, founder of Cincinnati-based Street Rescue Inc., noted that criminals, trying to avoid additional penalties of committing crimes with weapons, often hide guns under benches, in mailboxes of abandoned buildings and other places, for use when they need them.
“They won’t keep a gun on them — they’ll keep it nearby,” Tassell said. “It may be a small gun, large gun. We’ve had shotguns turned in. Pistols, rifles.”
“What they’ll do is use them when they need them, and stick them back away.”
Also welcome are weapons from around the house that people don’t want, or weapons that were left by others.
Street Rescue is not an anti-gun program, but it instead is anti violence, he said. It offers people a safe opportunity to turn in such weapons without being accused of criminal activity, he said.
Similar events in Cincinnati areas like Over-the-Rhine, Avondale and Evanston have had 5-20 weapons turned in. About one-third of them were loaded. This is the first event in Butler County.
Tassell said former state Rep. Dale Mallory, D-Cincinnati, who served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2007-14, once found a rusted shotgun during a tour and, despite his respected position, wondered whether he would be accused of wrongdoing for turning it in. Mallory told Tassell he realized how much more reluctant a non-official would be.
“We developed Street Rescue to be a no-questions-asked, kind of no-fear zone, where you can bring in any weapon, no questions asked about it, and just turn it in,” he said. No names are necessary, he added. Ammunition also is accepted.
Hamilton police are on board, Tassell said. In fact, Chief Craig Bucheit introduced Tassell to Pastor Shaquila Mathews, better known as “Pastor Shaq,” of the Truth & Life Community Church.
“I think it’s a huge problem in the community,” said Mathews, whose oldest brother, Calvin “CJ” Simmons Jr., was shot to death in Lindenwald on Sept. 16, 2016. The murder of Simmons, the oldest of four, who himself was father of four between ages 11 and 23, remains unsolved.
“He loved Christmas,” said Mathews, who added that having the gun program during the Christmas season allows her family “to pay it forward” by getting guns off the streets and “making sure they don’t find their way into the wrong hands.”
Those who turn in guns receive gift cards as thank-yous. Afterward, guns with serial numbers scratched off must be destroyed, Tassell said. Those with numbers are checked to see if they were stolen. If so, they are returned to their owners. Other good weapons go to federally licensed firearms dealers who can sell them, with the proceeds returning to the non-profit program.
Donations can be made to Street Rescue Inc. at any US Bank location.
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How to Participate
Here’s how you can participate Friday in the Street Rescue program for turning in guns:
- Go to the GQ Grooming Lounge, a barber shop at 545 Central Ave., in Hamilton. The Rev. Shaquila Mathews, better known as "Pastor Shaq," said she chose the barber shop as a location because of its laid-back atmosphere that should make people turning in the weapons feel comfortable.
- Show up during the program's hours, 2:30-5:30 p.m.
- No questions will be asked about anything. You won't be asked your name.
- People who turn in weapons will receive gift cards in appreciation for helping make the community safer and keeping weapons out of the wrong hands.
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