LA gun buyback urges residents to surrender firearms for gift cards

Los Angeles police will be offering gift cards in exchange for guns Saturday during its latest “Gun Buyback Program” event.

The LAPD will staff two locations where people can surrender firearms anonymously. The guns will be collected at Exposition Park, 3986 Hoover St., and at the LAPD Valley Traffic Division, 7870 Nolan Place in Panorama City.

People who surrender weapons during the event will receive $100 gift cards in exchange for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and $200 for “ghost guns” and assault weapons.

Ghost guns are those typically built from various parts or kits purchased online, with no serial numbers that allow law enforcement to trace them.

An LAPD gun buyback event in March led to the surrender of 17 assault weapons and 250 other firearms, including 15 ghost guns, according to the department. That event was the 17th of its kind held by the city, and cumulatively, the events have led to the surrender of 17,634 firearms, including 716 assault weapons, according to the LAPD.

People planning to surrender weapons during the event should bring them — unloaded — to either location in a locked container or in a vehicle trunk.

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