LANDOVER, Md. – Gun owners who wanted to get rid of their pistols, rifles, and semi-automatic weapons handed them over to Prince George’s County Police Saturday, and in return were given gift cards.

The event, held at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Landover, was part of the department’s “Guns for Gift Cards” program.

The value of the gift cards depended on the type of gun turned in: $50 for single- shot rifles, $100 for handguns, and $150 for semi-automatic weapons.

“Our goal today is to get guns off the street so they could not be used in violent activities,” says Maj. Robert Liberati with Prince George’s County Police.

Bruce Wagner handed over two shotguns he says he hasn’t used since he was a teenager.

“I had a couple of guns that I don’t need and don’t use anymore, so better to not have them sitting around the house,” Wagner says.

The department took in about 80 guns at an exchange event a week earlier. In the two years of the program they’ve taken in as many as 200 guns at a single event, Liberati says.

Liberati says all of the guns turned in would be taken to a smelter and melted.

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