LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — The city of Los Angeles is holding its annual gun buyback event at two locations on Wednesday, Dec. 26.
The event was moved up several months in response to the elementary school shooting that left 26 dead, including 20 children, in Newtown, Connecticut.
LAPD officials will be on hand to take back firearms at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena and the Van Nuys Masonic Temple from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The guns can be handed over completely anonymously, with no questions asked.
The city is offering up to $100 Ralph’s gift cards for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and up to $200 gift cards for assault weapons.
The buyback locations are set up in a drive-thru configuration. People are asked to bring their unloaded weapons secured in the trunk of their vehicles.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa created the gun buyback program in 2009 as another strategy to remove guns from the streets and reduce violence.
It is a joint effort of the LAPD and the Mayor’s Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD) program.
So far, the buyback initiative is credited with getting close to 8,000 firearms off the streets.
In the years since its inception, there has been a 39 percent drop in gang crimes and a 33 percent drop in shots fired calls, according to the mayor’s office.
Last May, police collected 1,673 firearms — a four-year low — including 53 assault weapons, 791 handguns, 302 shotguns and one anti-tank rocket launcher.
The city of Los Angeles held its annual gun buyback event on Wednesday. The event was moved up several months in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.
8 Comments to “L.A. Holding Annual Gun Buyback Event”
December 26, 2012 at 7:08 AM
Commen sense would dictate asking for the weapons before The Holidays!, it would help the stress of not having extra money for food. Which in turn would take the weapons off the streets to commit theft during the holidays, and not to mention kill. Plus doing it anonymously is a perk but do these Turn in your weapons programs should always be done like at Major sporting events, i.e. playoffs or championships for tickets.. Just a thought!
December 26, 2012 at 7:34 AM
yeah, but the talk of bans of certain weapons have put more weapons on the streets. Also the rocket launcher was a single use, that has already been used. Come on get the facts straight, stop trying to glorify this failure of a government.
December 26, 2012 at 8:18 AM
the phone number for more information is????
December 26, 2012 at 8:39 AM
It was an EMPTY M72 LAW rocket launcher tube. You can buy and posses them legally. Is it sensationalism you're trying for, or is it just incompetence you're achieving KTLA?
December 26, 2012 at 10:38 AM
besides there are companies that will give the owner more money and use the gun for parts, legally.
December 26, 2012 at 10:18 PM
If the guns in the photo are from this program, I saw a lot antique guns. Hardly the assault type, looks like people just cleaned out the closet not disarmed.
December 28, 2012 at 6:13 AM
The government gets thes guns back so Eric Holder has a supply to give to the Mexicans so they can shoot border agents. Oh yeah whatever happened to THAT COVER UP and also whatever happened with the BENGAZI KILLINGS!!!