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Despite the rainy weather on Saturday, the anonymous gun buyback of the San Mateo County was a resounding success, collecting a record number of assault weapons and paying out all available funds to participants.
Authorities reported in a statement that in total, 297 firearms were turned in, including a record number of 24 assault weapons, four ghost guns and one machine gun. Collected firearms will be processed for destruction.
Residents were paid between $50 and $200 depending on the firearm, said the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, who noted that all funds available for the event were spent, an unprecedented event since the county San Mateo began hosting gun buybacks in 2018.
"Participation in Saturday's anonymous gun buyback speaks to the importance of events like this that provide community members with an avenue to remove unwanted firearms from their homes, ultimately creating a San Mateo County safer," said Sheriff Christina Corpus.
In turn, he assured that this action taken by residents "helps prevent tragic accidents involving unsafe firearms and is another step to ensure that these firearms do not end up in the wrong hands."
The Sheriff's Office and its partners plan to host another gun buyback in 2024 at a date to be determined.
Participating in the four-hour event Saturday in South San Francisco were the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo County Citizens for Gun Buyback San Mateo County, the San Mateo County Police of Colma, the Daly City Police Department, the San Bruno Police Department and the South San Francisco Police Department.
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