TAMPA, Fla. — "We, as a community, have to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them to begin with."
That's what Tampa Police Chief Mary O' Connor said earlier this month in the wake of multiple deadly shootings around the country and in our community.
As part of the effort to get illegal guns off the streets of Tampa, the department is giving people a financial incentive to turn in any firearm this weekend: $100 for any gun, no questions asked.
The Gun Buy Back event will be hosted from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 at two different locations:
Both with be drive-through events. Tampa Police remind us that all firearms must be placed in the trunk or the rear of the vehicle prior to entry.
The event is being funded by anonymous donors.
This weekend's event will be the first gun buy-back program the Tampa Police Department has hosted in seven years. The 2015 buy-back event, which was funded by the Tampa Bay Lightning, offered $50 per gun and netted more than 500 guns, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.
Earlier this month, the police chief pleaded with the community to report any illegal gun use to law enforcement. According to O'Connor, the department has made six arrests for felons in possession of firearm cases just since the beginning of June. Police have also reported 78 guns stolen from unlocked vehicles since the start of the year, she added.
"We don’t want anymore legally owned guns to end up into the hands of someone with criminal intent to use that gun in a malicious manner," she said at the time. "I think we all have to agree that we’ve all talked about it enough and it’s time for action."