'Record' 430 guns collected at buy-back event at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, county says
The event allowed people to turn in their unwanted firearms for a gift cards, according to Supervisor Janice Hahn's office.
A total of 430 guns, including dozens of pistols, rifles and shotguns, were turned over to the Long Beach police Saturday during a buy-back event at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, authorities said Sunday.
The event, which was hosted by the LBPD 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 $300, depending on the weapon’s functionality and type.
Long Beach police said that gift cards were valued as follows: $50 for non-functioning firearms; $100 for working pistols, rifles and shotguns; $200 for ghost guns (guns with no serial numbers) and $300 for assault rifles.
The event Saturday was the 17th sponsored by Supervisor Hahn's office since 2022 and brought in a total of 153 pistols, 149 rifles, 50 shotguns, 50 ghost guns and 28 assault rifles, according to a statement from Supervisor Hahn's office.
The LBPD also collected replica firearms and ammunition for destruction, police said.
A similar buy-back event in late June 2025 brought in 311 guns. To date, 3,397 firearms have been taken off the street in buy-back events throughout her district, according to Supervisor Hahn.
LBPD Chief Wally Hebeish called the event a "meaningful step toward creating a safer Long Beach."
Supervisor Hahn agreed: "We even had people turn in guns in exchange for nothing, after we’d run out of gift cards!" Hahn said in a statement Saturday. "That really drives home how much people recognize that these deadly weapons have no place in their homes and around their families.”
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