200 Guns Off Santa Clara Co. Streets After Buyback Event

Nearly 200 firearms were turned in on Saturday during a Santa Clara County gun buyback event in San Jose, a county official announced Monday.

Out of the 183 firearms accumulated from the morning event, sheriff’s deputies collected 79 pistols, 68 rifles, 24 shotguns and 12 assault rifles, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said.

Chavez co-hosted the event with Sheriff Laurie Smith at Reid-Hillview Airport, where people were paid $100 for each handgun, shotgun and rifle and $200 for every assault rifle, she said.

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The county gave a total of $18,950 in cash during the event, in which attendees remained anonymous, Chavez said. About 10 percent of people who turned in firearms Saturday had no idea they were still loaded, Chavez said.

Some of those people found the firearms while looking through the belongings of a family member who died, Chavez said. Some people who turned in guns were family members of World War II veterans who had passed away, she said.

All the weapons will be destroyed but some firearms were determined to be stolen and will be returned to their owner, she said. The event allowed the county to help get guns off the streets and opened up opportunities for conversations about firearms at homes, Chavez said.

Some of the assault weapons handed over from the public are illegal in the state, she said. “These weapons pose serious threats to safety and not just to the public, but to our public safety officers,” Chavez said.

Prior to Saturday’s event the city reached out to the Spanish community and for the first time the Vietnamese community, she said. The county has collected about 2,200 guns during gun buyback events in 2013 and 2014, Chavez said.

--Bay City News

--Photo courtesy of Cindy Chavez on Facebook