LAPD Will Host Gun Buyback Nearby

In what it describes as an effort to remove guns and reduce violence, the Los Angeles Police Department is hosting a citywide gun buyback program at two locations Wednesday.

From 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., LAPD personnel, in partnership with the Mayor's Gang Reduction & Youth Development program, will award gift cards valued at up to $100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles and up to $200 for assault weapons surrendered to the program.

"The Gun Buyback program is not a sting. It is an anonymous program and no questions will be asked, no paperwork will be required, and no pictures will be taken," the mayor's office said in a statement.

"There is no limit to the number of weapons that can be surrendered. The goal of the program is to remove unwanted guns from our community before they fall into the hands of those who may do harm," the statement read.

Guns may be surrendered at the San Fernando Valley at the Van Nuys Masonic Temple, 14750 Sherman Way, and in South Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Martin Luther King Boulevard at Figueroa Street, in Parking Lot 6, according to the LAPD.

Since its inception in 2009, nearly 8,000 guns have been surrendered to the program, the LAPD reports.

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