(FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and several partners are hosting a firearm buyback event in La Mesa this Saturday, just one month after hosting a similar event in Encinitas that bought dozens of unwanted firearms from residents.
Saturday’s event will feature a drive-through operation, allowing residents to hand over unwanted, working firearms and receive a gift card worth up to $200, all while remaining anonymous.
The sheriff’s office said it will offer $100 for handguns, rifles and shotguns, with the $200 cards available for assault weapons.
The agency said that free cable locks for firearms will also be distributed until supplies run out.
Anyone who wants to attend is asked to place the unwanted firearms in their trunk and stay in their vehicle as deputies offer instructions and retrieve the weapons.
The sheriff’s office said all weapons turned in will be destroyed.
The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 23, at the La Mesa Civic Center at 4825 Date Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In recent years, buyback events have been hosted by law enforcement agencies across the country to take in unwanted firearms. A New York Times investigation found that in some instances, some parts were destroyed and others resold in a secondary arms market.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
