L.A.’s next gun buyback day slated for May 4
Los Angeles officials on Tuesday revealed details of the city’s upcoming gun buyback day, the first held after similar events in December yielded record numbers for some area municipalities.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck announced that residents can anonymously turn in firearms May 4 and receive up to $100 of Ralph’s gift cards for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and up to $200 for assault weapons.
Authorities will collect weapons at four locations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day: The Los Angeles Fire Department Academy, 1700 Stadium Way; a South L.A. park-and-ride parking lot, 1300 West Pacific Coast Highway; the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7900 South Western Avenue; and the Van Nuys Masonic Temple, 14750 Sherman Way.
Though the event is usually held in the spring, the December shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school prompted officials across Southern California to host buyback days at the end of the year.
Some reported record numbers. Authorities collected 2,037 firearms -- including 75 assault weapons and two rocket launchers -- at the L.A. event. In San Diego, officials gathered 364 weapons.
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department also hosted an event in January for the first time since 2009, collecting 386 weapons in Compton.
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