Gun Buyback Event in SoMa Held to Help Mitigate Future Gun Violence
An anonymous gun buyback event Saturday that was hosted by United Playaz in partnership with SFPD and the Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention Services had received over 200 surrendered firearms by noon.
Though the pandemic has helped mitigate violent crimes in San Francisco, gun violence still remains a large problem in the city. 2020 alone saw a 32 percent uptick of reporting gunfire shots in San Francisco over last year; Oakland has seen a 47 percent jump over the past twelve months a worrying trend toward increased gun violence in the East Bay. In an effort to thwart more episodes of gun violence (and offer a no-questions-asked opportunity to hand over firearms), a City-participated gun buyback event was held from 8 a.m. to noon off 1038 Howard Street.
Gun owners who turned in their weapons were paid $100 for handguns and $200 for assault rifles.
The buyback program comes at a time when San Francisco has seen a rise in gun-related crimes over the first part of the year compared to the same time period year, city officials said.
Since it was started in 2014 the gun buyback program, which is anonymous, has collected nearly 2,000 guns.
The weapons will be turned into raw material to be used by artists involved with the Robby Poblete Foundation s Art of Peace program.
The foundation was started six years ago after the murder of Poblete in Vallejo at age 23.