Community members turned in more than 100 guns as part of a gun buyback event Saturday, with many saying that they wanted to make sure their firearms wouldn’t end up on the streets, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said.
In total, officers collected 103 guns, including 38 rifles, 28 revolvers, 24 pistols and 13 shotguns. Five of the surrendered weapons had been previously reported as stolen, according to a news release. Residents were given a gift card in return.
“Today, there are 103 fewer firearms out in our community, which means 103 fewer guns that could end up in the hands of a person willing to inflict harm,” Brown said in a statement.
“We would be naïve to think this will be the solution to gun crimes in our community,” he continued, “but the Salt Lake City Police Department is fully committed to doing everything we can to reduce the chance of a firearm being used illegally, lost, stolen or abandoned.”
Last week, Brown described gun violence as an “epidemic” and said he supports raising the minimum age to purchase firearms. Protesters marched against gun violence in Salt Lake City on Saturday and also participated in a March for Our Lives rally.
The guns collected Saturday will either be destroyed or removed from circulation — donated to the Salt Lake City’s Police Mutual Aid Association’s museum or surrendered to the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Crime Lab, police said.
The event was the first gun buyback hosted by the police department in Salt Lake City in more than 20 years, the release said. People were invited to relinquish any firearms or ammo they wanted to take out of circulation without showing ID or answering any questions.
The police department said in the release that it plans on holding another such event in the future.
Until then, community members can still turn in unwanted firearms anytime by calling 801-799-3000. However, gift cards won’t be provided, and the surrender would be documented in a police report.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/YmAa1oJ
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