Santa Barbara Police Department holds Gun Buyback event June 10

If you have a gun, rifle or another weapon you want to get rid of, you’ll have a chance this weekend.

The Santa Barbara Police Department is partnering with the Coalition Against Gun Violence to hold another Anonymous Gun Buyback event.

The event will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2017, from 8 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of Earl Warren Showgrounds located at 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara.

Police say the event helps remove unwanted guns from the community and aims to reduce the risk of homicide, suicide and deadly accidents.

“If we have the opportunity to take an unwanted firearm out of a home so it can’t fall into the wrong hands or be misued by someone who’s not thinking clearly at the time, then it’s a positive for the community as a whole,” said Sgt. Riley Harwood with the Santa Barbara Police Department.

The first event, shortly after the Isla Vista massacre, brought in more than 200 unwanted weapons.

Officers check the serial numbers and if a weapon is found to be stolen, every effort will be made to give it back to its rightful owner.

While supplies last, $100 Smart & Final gift cards will be given to people turning in working handguns, shotguns and rifles. $200 Smart & Final gift cards will be given to people turning in functioning California classified assault weapons.

Residents can also drop ammunition for handguns, shotguns, and rifles at the event with the caveat that gift cards will not be provided in exchange for this.

Eventually, all weapons turned in at the event will be destroyed then recycled.

Free gun locks will also be given away to anyone who would like one, while supplies last.

All firearms must be transported to the Gun Buyback event unloaded and in the trunk of a vehicle. Explosives or military ordnances like hand grenades or artillery shells should not be brought to the event under any circumstances.