Watertown Police to Participate in First Regional Gun Buyback

WATERTOWN, MA - The Watertown Police Department is partnering with law enforcement from four other municipalities in Middlesex County to hold the county's first regional gun buyback in June.

Watertown police are joined by the Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville and Belmont police departments, various community and faith-based organizations and the Middlesex Sheriff's Office to provide residents with a safe and secure method of disposing of unwanted firearms from their homes.

"Nationwide more than 20,000 people commit suicide with a firearm and another 16,000 are injured in unintentional shootings each year," Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said in a press release. "Providing residents with an avenue to safely dispose of unwanted firearms makes our communities – and especially our homes – safer, and we are proud to support our partners in this effort."

Events will be held throughout the month of June, beginning June 11 in Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge, relocating to Watertown June 18 and ending in Somerville June 25.

According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, cited by the release, 115 Massachusetts residents died as a result of a firearm-related suicide in 2013.

"The WPD Is excited to take part in our first gun buy back initiative to promote safer homes in our community," Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn said in the release. "We encourage all our residents to turn in unwanted firearms and make our community and our surrounding communities a safer place to live."