LBPD to host gun buy-back event Saturday, June 27
People handing over weapons, operational or not, will receive gift cards valued between $50 and $300, authorities said.
Long Beach police will host a buy-back event next weekend to allow people to hand over firearms anonymously in exchange for gift cards.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park (1950 Lemon Ave.), is designed to get guns off the streets, according to the LBPD.
Gift cards will be given out as follows: $50 for non-functioning firearms; $150 for working pistols, rifles and shotguns; $200 for guns lacking no serial numbers ("ghost guns"); and $300 for assault rifles, police said.
Officers will determine the value of 3D-printed firearms at the event, police added.
People participating in the buy-back must enter the event with the unloaded firearms in their vehicle’s trunk. They should then remain in their vehicle while detectives recover the firearms. At that point the person will receive their gift cards and the LBPD’s Forensics Science Services Division will then secure the weapons.
Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that having access to a firearm inside a household doubles the risk of homicide and triples the odds of someone committing suicide.
Previous buy-back events in 2024 and 2025 netted 190 and 311 guns, respectively.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents Long Beach and has long sponsored the event, said this will be her 17th buy-back.
“I have talked to people who had unwanted guns for years but didn’t know how to get rid of them,” Hahn said in a statement. “I know people worry about what would happen if their guns were stolen or found by their kids. This buyback is a safe, anonymous, and easy way to get firearms out of your home and give you some peace of mind.”
Participants should enter the park westbound on 20th Street from Orange Avenue and then turn southbound onto Lemon Avenue to access the parking lot. Vehicles will then continue southbound to exit.
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