TROY, N.Y. -- The flea market at Powers Park in Troy is a weekly thing.
But this weekend, one of the vendors was trying to buy something back.
“I came not knowing what it was for. It was Powers Park and it was a sale. Then I hear his message and I said, I support it,” said Cohoes resident Joe Houser.
Reverend Willie Bacote was just elevated to the role of Pastor days ago. And he’s not wasting any time.
“No I'm not. And I love it because I have a passion,” Bacote said.
His goal is to raise enough money to buy gift cards that can be given in exchange for guns.
“It'll give them incentive to think well here's something that I can get if I just turn in a gun,” said Francis Crandall, a Troy resident.
Gun exchange programs are already being tried out in Albany to help get weapons off the streets. But now the effort is being taken on by a pastor in Troy who says that ridding a community of guns starts with the community itself. Our Britt Godshalk has the story.
“We've been in contact with DA Rich McNally, Chief Kaiser and we are finalizing the legalities and the amnesties of this program we can come out and be a strong team together,” Bacote said.
And if that's not a good enough reason, Bacote's ministry bought a boat to raffle off to bring in more bucks.
“This encourages the people to come out. You see all sorts of people in community. You find out that this is my neighbor,” Bacote said.
Nysiha Price came with her three boys.
“I don't even let my kids go outside because of the fear of not knowing if my kid is going to get shot,” Price said.
In May, her fiancé, Dustin Smith, was gunned down after a confrontation.
“An argument over his own cell phone,” Price said. “The saddest part is he left the situation and they followed him to the house to pursue their murder.”
“People are getting killed just over arguments. I can identify,” said Peggy Russell, sister of Timothy Rysedorph.
It's a reality that Troy resident Peggy Russell has lived with for 11 years. In 1997, her brother Timothy Rysedorph was shot in the head and dismembered by notorious serial killer Gary Evans.
“Those children they're going to be raised without a father. Like my nephew is being raised without a father,” Russel said. “Finally people are getting together. Black, white, we're all coming together trying to get guns off the street.”