RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police say a gun buyback event in Raleigh has resulted in the surrender of 267 functional firearms and an additional 11 inoperable weapons.
The Raleigh Police Department says nearly 150 people voluntarily surrendered their firearms at Saturday's event.
The guns will be stored or sold on the open market, under a 2015 state law, and the proceeds given to local schools.
The city offered up to $200 in gift cards, depending on the type and quantity of surrendered weapons.
Gun violence is a priority for the city this year, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The News & Observer in a recent interview.
The newspaper has reported that 69 people were shot in Raleigh and more were killed in the first six months of 2022 than in the first six months of 2021 or 2020.
A Wake County deputy also was shot and killed just over a week ago — one of seven law enforcement officers shot in North Carolina this month, two of them fatally.
Residents and law enforcement officers from across the state paid final respects to Wake County Sheriff's Office Deputy Ned Byrd at a funeral Friday.
Related: 'Committed to serving this county': Slain Wake deputy laid to rest