Ken Thorbourne
Jersey Journal
November 01, 2006
Enraged about the proliferation of illegal handguns, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy yesterday laid the brutal slaying of a Heights deli owner at the doorstep of President George W. Bush.
"You should be down in (Washington) D.C. asking George Bush why he hasn't controlled the outrageous proliferation of handguns," Healy barked at a reporter asking what the city had done to make city residents safer. "It cries out for a federal cure."
Healy called the shooting death of Fidelina A. Claros "a tragedy" and said that at least once a month he shopped in her store, located less than two blocks from his home.
The mayor ticked off local initiatives he's pursued to stem gun violence, namely his gun buy-back program and an ordinance that prohibits the sale or purchase of more than one handgun within 30 days.
Between retirements and new hirings, the department has made a net gain of roughly 100 police officers during his tenure, Healy added.
"If this man (Claros's killer) didn't have a gun, there would have been a fight, a tussle, but this woman would still be with us."
© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
