L.A. County sheriff to hold gun buyback Saturday in East L.A.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s East Los Angeles station will host a gun buyback program this weekend, officials announced Wednesday.
The “gifts for guns” event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Belvedere Park, 4801 E. 1st St., East Los Angeles.
Residents can anonymously exchange their weapons for gift cards redeemable at Target stores or Ralphs supermarkets, officials said.
An assault weapon can be turned in for a $200 gift card and a handgun, rifle or shotgun will net its owner a $100 card. Even guns that don’t work can be traded in for a $50 card.
The sheriff’s station is prepared to hand out up to $35,000 in gift cards, while supplies last. The department used money from funds collected through the confiscation or forfeiture of narcotics-related assets.
The buyback program began in Compton in 2005 and has expanded to other communities and departments since then.
During a sheriff’s previous program, in January, 389 firearms were collected during a six-hour period, authorities said. The weapons are destroyed.
“Well over 10,000 weapons have been turned in over the years through many police agencies through these gun buyback programs,” Sheriff Lee Baca said during a news conference Wednesday to announce the upcoming gun exchange event.
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Twitter: @jeanmerl
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