By Mary O’KEEFE

The Glendale Police Dept. collected nearly 200 firearms on Saturday during its anonymous gun buyback event. The types of arms collected ranged from old World War II rifles to newer guns.

“We had one [gun] that was still in the box with its paperwork,” said Sgt. Dan Suttles, GPD spokesman.

In all, 101 guns, 53 pistols, 28 rifles, 10 shotguns, and 10 assault or military style weapons were turned in. Some guns came from family collections and some were in pieces; however, all guns were accepted at the buyback.

After the guns were collected in the parking lot location and were confirmed not to be stolen, they were taken to the station and prepared for destruction. Those who dropped their guns off were given Target gift cards ranging from $100 to $200 depending upon the type of gun that was turned in.

“The gun buyback program provides an opportunity and an incentive for people to safely dispose of unwanted firearms with no questions asked,” Chief Carl Povilaitis stated in a release prior to Saturday’s event. “These are guns that may otherwise fall into the wrong hands.”

  Mary Okeefe