Houston police chief declares gun ‘buyback’ successful after receiving over 800 weapons

The Houston, Texas police chief is declaring the city’s gun buyback program hosted on July 30 a success.

Residents could exchange their guns for gift cards at the event, which was hosted at Wheeler Ave. Baptist Church, according to FOX 26.

Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, said that 845 guns were collected at the event, adding that close to $100,000 in gift cards were given.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said the event was a success.

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“I am so proud of our city,” Finner said. “People can say what they want, but time and again, Houstonians step up with common sense and love. I thank all the men and women in uniform and the volunteers who made this day successful. I knew there would be a lot of people, but even I did not think there would be this many people the first time.”

Residents of Houston could go through the buyback process with no-questions-asked, although the Houston Police Department would determine if it was stolen or used in a crime, according to the report.

The police department will then “destroy all guns that cannot be returned to their rightful owners or not considered evidence in a crime.”

Turner said that he didn’t know what to initially expect from the program.

“We used best practices to plan and hold today’s event. I did not know what to expect, and the turnout was overwhelming,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “The turnout demonstrates there are too many guns on our streets, and people want to get them out of their possession. The gun buyback is not the only solution, but we can and will make our streets safer and help reduce gun violence.”