Fort Worth police run out of rewards for guns exchanged at buyback event

Police recovered 78 weapons of all types during a gun buyback on Saturday, but could not keep up with the event’s Christmas-like rush.

By 12:40 p.m., all 50 of the $50 Visa gift cards budgeted for the event were gone. At the time, police had collected about 57 weapons. The event began at noon and ended before the scheduled 4 p.m. stop time, according to police.

“We’re still taking weapons,” Pedro Criado, recently appointed commander of Fort Worth’s northwest police division, said after the gift cards ran out. “Our goal is to get these weapons off the street.”

Some people turned in their weapons even though gift cards were no longer available while some sought other options, police said.

At least five men, some carrying signs saying they wanted to buy guns, stood outside the fenced back parking lot area of All Saints Catholic Church, in the 2000 block of North Houston Street, where the buyback was taking place.

“Most of us out here are collectors and we’re looking for deals,” said Michael Penney, 45, of Fort Worth. “We start out with what they are offering here, and if that doesn’t work, we start a friendly little bidding war.”

Police collected rifles, shotguns, pistols, handguns and ammunition. Police were not accepting air rifles, bows and arrows or knives, which some people were bringing to turn in.

“A lot of people inherit a rifle and they just want to make sure they keep it out of the wrong hands,” said Capt. Robin Krouse. “So they bring them to us.”

Other are trying to keep weapons out of the hands of relatives who are advanced in age, Krouse said.

Buybacks became popular about 20 years ago as a way to get guns off the street. Fort Worth canceled the program in 1994, but revived it 15 years later. In 2009, people turned in 140 guns.

Gun violence has been an issue throughout the city, said Fort Worth City Councilman Carlos Flores, who represents District 2 where the buyback took place. “Anything the police can do to take guns off the street is welcomed. The response tells us that public interest in this type of program is high.”

The city will schedule another gun buyback event but officers are not sure when that might occur, according to Tracy Carter, police spokesman.

“That’s above my pay-grade,” Krouse said.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Fort Worth police run out of rewards for guns exchanged at buyback event."