190 guns turned in during buy back event at Scherer Park, police say
The event, which was hosted Saturday, allowed people to turn in their unwanted firearms in exchange for a gift cards.
A total of 190 guns, including dozens of rifles and shotguns, were turned over to the Long Beach Police Department Saturday during a buy back event at Scherer Park, authorities announced today.
The event, which was hosted by the Long Beach Police Department and sponsored Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hanh’s office, allowed people to exchange their weapons for gift cards on a voluntary and anonymous basis. People were given gift cards ranging from $50 to $200, depending on the weapon’s functionality and type.
The event Saturday brought in a total of 77 handguns—one of which was a ghost gun (it lacked a serial number, making it untraceable)—56 rifles, 33 shotguns, 14 zip guns, and 10 replica firearms, police said.
Long Beach police say reducing the availability and accessibility of firearms serve as a way to make the community and city safer.
According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, having access to a firearm inside a household doubles the risk of homicide and triples the odds of someone committing suicide.
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