Handguns Make Up Almost Half Of All Firearms Surrendered At Gun Buyback Events

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The city of Los Angeles collected nearly 800 guns at last weekend's buyback event, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday.

During a news conference, the mayor showed off a pistol he said was once registered to "Rat Pack" crooner Sammy Davis Jr.

"This is a U.S.-government issued. So this was carried by a soldier one time and then came into somebody else's hands. "This is a .45 (caliber) 1911 model similar to the one I carry," police chief Charlie Beck explained.

The 791 firearms collected include 364 handguns, 237 rifles, 144 shotguns, 42 assault weapons and four "atypical" guns, one of which was made to look like a pen, according to the chief.

The firearms were surrendered Saturday at two locations: the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and a medical group building in the San Fernando Valley. In exchange, participants received Ralphs grocery gift cards valued at up to $200.

Beck and Garcetti said they were pleased with the number of weapons turned in, despite critics who said gun buybacks are not effective in curbing gun violence.

"Fewer guns in our neighborhoods means fewer chances for them to kill, injure or terrorize the people we love," Garcetti said. "If we prevent a
single shooting, then the gun buyback program has been a success."

"2008, the year before we started gun buybacks, we had almost 1,700 people shot in the city of Los Angeles, not shot at, shot!" the chief emphasized. "Last year, even though we had a little increase, we had under 1,100. So that's almost 600 individual decrease. And it's not just because of gun buybacks, it's a combination. It's all the things that we do."

Ballistic tests were not done on any of the surrendered weapons, but background checks were done, Beck said.  Twelve of those weapons had been stolen - but not the one that used to belong to Davis. That was legal all the way.

Since 2009, nearly half of the 15,233 guns surrendered at 11 buyback events have been handguns, which the LAPD said are the most commonly used weapon in homicides involving firearms.

The buyback program is a key part of "a multi-faceted approach to preventing gun violence" and has "ensured that over 15,000 firearms will never be used in a crime", Beck added.