Law enforcement officials have just completed a weeklong operation to tackle gun violence in Passaic County.

Operation Silk City Sweep focused on removing violent offenders from the streets of Paterson. More than 100 people were arrested. Several firearms and large amounts of suspected drugs were also seized.

"From knowing the agony that the community feels about these shootings, and having to deal with families, people don’t want to hear, ‘Well, it’s because of the pandemic,’ or, ‘We are in an uptick.’ Victims and survivors do not want to hear that,” says Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdez. “They want to hear what are we doing to stem this tide. What are we doing to collaborate and stop the next shooting? So that’s where our multi-pronged approach is focused on.”

Paterson has seen an uptick in shootings in 2021. There have been 65 reported shootings this year up from 47 in the same time frame in 2020.