The Rockville City police department is hosting its third annual gun buyback event on Saturday, offering community members an opportunity to dispose of unwanted firearms anonymously with no questions asked.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at RedGate Park, 14500 Avery Road in Rockville. It is sponsored by the Rockville police department and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
According to Rockville police, participants who drop off unloaded functioning handguns, rifles and shotguns will receive a $100 Visa gift card. Those who turn in assault-style weapons and privately manufactured firearms, also known as ghost guns, will receive a $200 Visa gift card.
Non-functioning firearms and ammunition also will be accepted at the event but cannot be redeemed for a gift card.
Lt. Jason West, the department’s public information officer, said in an email to MoCo360 Tuesday the buyback event “provides residents a safe and lawful means to dispose of firearms that they want to get rid of, regardless of how they came to possess them.”
The goal is to remove guns from community streets, keep them out of schools and away from youths, according to the event’s webpage. “Every gun turned in is one less gun that could be used in a serious crime, suicide, or domestic violence incident or accidentally discharged by a child,” it says.
The buyback event comes less than two weeks after a shooting near Montgomery College’s Rockville campus on Aug. 2 that injured a man and caused the school to be placed in lockdown. On Aug. 4, Rockville police identified a suspect in the shooting as Isaiah Warren Simpson, 31, of Washington, D.C., and have obtained an arrest warrant for him. According to police, Simpson is prohibited from possessing firearms.
West emphasized the buyback is a “no-questions-asked” event. He added that all collected firearms will be destroyed and won’t “have the chance to fall into the wrong hands or be used in a crime of violence.”
Participants planning to drop off firearms must remain in their vehicles. Firearms must be unloaded and transported in the trunk of a vehicle. Guns with ammunition and walk-ups will not be allowed.
To receive a gift card, weapons must be functional. Rockville police also maintain the right to determine gift card eligibility and the ability to limit the number of gift cards issued per person, according to police. Gift card quantities are limited.
According to West, the first gun buyback event three years ago was held at the Rockville police station and had such a large turnout that the event was moved to RedGate Park. At the two previous buyback events, about 300 firearms were turned in each time, according to the event webpage.
At the buyback event in August 2023, State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a Facebook video that an AK-47 rifle and several ghost guns had been turned in within the first hour of the event.
