Dallas County residents trade guns for gift cards at buyback event

DALLAS - Dozens of people showed up to take part in a gun buyback event co-hosted by Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown.

The Sheriff partnered with Dallas City Councilman Jesse Moreno to purchase guns from owners at Samuell Grand Park in Dallas.

The unwanted weapons were exchanged for hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards.

Handguns were worth $100 and long guns were worth $200.

Sheriff Brown says the program give people incentive to dispose of weapons properly.

"There are many instances where people have hand guns ,they have long guns that are accessible to them, but they didn't originally have them. Maybe grandma or grandpa had them or a relative, so they have them, but don't know what to do with them. This affords them an opportunity to dispose of those weapons properly," she said.

The money for the gift cards comes from Councilman Moreno's office.

"We do know that if we take one weapon off the streets in the City of Dallas, that's one less incident that's likely to occur here," Moreno said.

The program was also assisted by Dallas County Constable Michael Orozco and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.

All guns collected at the event were turned over to the Dallas Police Department to be destroyed.