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FWPD Holding Gun Buyback Event This Weekend

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - For the first time since 2009, the Fort Worth Police Department is holding a gun buyback event.

Department spokesman Daniel Segura said the event is not intended to disarm any citizen or neighborhood. Instead, it's a way for people to safely get rid of old or unsafe gun that they have no further use for. "If anyone has any type of weapons, that they want to get rid of, this is the perfect opportunity," he said.

Segura said old guns are often forgotten about and can be dangerous if someone unsuspecting finds it. "We've seen cases where a child finds the gun in the closet, under the bed, in a shoe box… thinking that it might be a toy gun, they pull the trigger and then that child gets injured."

Anyone who turns in a gun will get a $50 gift card -- no questions asked.

The event this weekend is the first of five buyback events. There will be one for each Fort Worth police division. "In Fort Worth we have five divisions – north, south, east, west and central. This specific event for this weekend will be in east division," Segura explained.

The first FWPD gun buyback will be held on May 20, from noon until 5 p.m., at True Vine Baptist Church located at 3732 Miller Avenue. The other four events will be announced at a later date.

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