Gun buy-back on Saturday

A gun buy-back event will be held on Saturday in the hopes of getting more guns off the streets. City Council, the Father’s Day Rally Committee, the Greenfield Foundation, Brown’s ShopRite Markets, the Philadelphia Police Department and community anti-violence leaders are uniting for an effort on Jan. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event kicks off a year-long “2021 No Gun Campaign” focused on getting illegal guns out of homes and off city’s streets.
Guns will be collected simultaneously at Yesha Ministries at 2301 Snyder Ave. in South Philly and Greater Exodus Baptist Church at 704 N. Broad St. in North Philly.

According to city statistics, 499 people were murdered in Philadelphia in 2020 and over 2,240 were shot. Both figures are 40 percent higher than in 2019. 
The gun buy-back will accept working handguns or semi-automatic firearms in exchange for a $100 gift certificate to Brown’s ShopRite stores in Philadelphia. Funding for the gift certificates is provided through a grant from the Greenfield Foundation.