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A group of Indianapolis pastors and community leaders last week announced a gun buyback program, meant to reduce violent crime in the city.
Drew Daudelin/WFYIThe City of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and a nonprofit are backing an event this weekend designed to reduce gun violence. It includes a gun buyback program on Saturday.
Police Lt. Kendale Adams says IMPD last supported a gun buyback program in 2012, when they took in about 250 guns in a single day. But he says they haven’t done it since then because it did not reduce violence.
“But, having said that, they do play a role, right? I mean it could be grandma’s house, that has a gun in her house, and you know, obviously she’s not involved in crime, but she has a grandson,” Adams says.
Adams says IMPD partnered with this weekend’s event because the program expanded to include more than a gun buyback. An employment and resource fair Friday connected residents with services Adams says are crucial to reduce crime.
The Indy Public Safety Foundation, a local nonprofit, donated $35,000 to help fund the event. The gun buyback is from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Martin Luther King Community Center.
Organizers will pay between $80 and $160 for guns that are turned in.
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