Community Corner

Buy-Back Yields Nearly 100 Guns

The Abington gun buy-back was too successful; it ran out of gift cards

 

Abington’s recent gun buy-back program yielded more guns than it had gift cards.

The event on Saturday, Sept. 29, sponsored by Giant Food Stores, offered gift cards in exchange for handguns and assault rifles — $75 for each hand gun and $125 for each assault rifle. Abington Police Deputy Chief John Livingood said the program yielded 92 guns.

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See the initial story here.

But, there was only $4,000 worth of gift cards to go around, meaning that a maximum of 53 guns could be “bought back.”

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The gift cards were gone in 90 minutes.

Livingood said at this week’s public safety committee meeting that some people turned in guns without receiving payment. He added that some people who turned in guns and received a letter from the police department that said they would receive gift cards if the department could secure more gift cards from Giant.

The guns were secured and placed in bins. Livingood said each gun will be checked to see if it is stolen (a stolen gun will be returned to its owner) and the police department will look to receive a court order to have the guns melted down.

Livingood said the community group Bridging Our Communities — which formed following a July murder in North Hills — held a number of meetings and asked police to hold such a program. Each gun was turned in no-questions asked.


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