San Mateo County Holding 1st Of 5 Gun Buyback Events This Weekend In San Carlos

SAN CARLOS (BCN) – San Mateo County officials are holding a gun buyback event in San Carlos on Saturday, the first of five such events the county will hold through 2023.

People can turn in firearms with no questions asked and will receive $100 per handgun, shotgun or rifle and $200 per assault weapon, and will also be able to turn in ammunition but will not receive additional compensation for it. Free gun locks will be provided while supplies last, county officials said.

San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos and county Supervisors Dave Pine and Don Horsley are among the expected attendees at Saturday's event, which is being held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1000 Skyway Road in San Carlos.

Last month the county Board of Supervisors approved spending up to $208,000 in reserves from Measure K, a 2016 voter-approved extension of a half-cent sales tax, to go along with $100,000 from the Sheriff's Office and $67,000 from the community group Citizens for a San Mateo County Gun Buyback to fund the events.

The county collected more than 1,200 weapons during three similar events in 2018 and 2019.