2nd New Haven gun buyback of summer yields 40 guns

New Haven Police Officer Donna Aponte, with an AK46, left, and a Mossberg 500 obtained at the gun buyback held Saturday at Radio AMOR. New Haven Police Officer Donna Aponte, with an AK46, left, and a Mossberg 500 obtained at the gun buyback held Saturday at Radio AMOR. Photo: Melanie Stengel — New Haven Register Photo: Melanie Stengel — New Haven Register Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 2nd New Haven gun buyback of summer yields 40 guns 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> Though the city’s second gun buyback didn’t start until 10 a.m., a father and child were there at 8:30 a.m. — both eager to hand in their weapons.

After the father turned in his gun, his 5-year-old son asked to turn in his own pocket knife, said Javier Cabrera, a volunteer from Spanish radio station Radio Amor 690 AM, which housed Saturday’s gun buyback.

“The influence on our kids was such a good thing,” Cabrera said.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, police had collected 40 guns, including one assault rifle, a Chinese AK-47, Asst. Police Chief Al Vazquez said. The collection ran until 3 p.m.

The city’s first gun buyback on June 28 yielded a total of 73 firearms, according to previous reports. However, Vazquez said Saturday that it actually produced 66 guns, including four assault rifles. All weapons collected will be destroyed by Connecticut State Police.

“These guns will never see the light of day again,” he said.

Many guns make it onto the street through the burglaries of innocent peoples’ homes, so the buyback would prevent criminals from being able to steal weapons in the first place, Vazquez said.

No questions were asked of people who turned in the guns, he said.

“It’s not that we are trying to [accumulate] evidence of past crimes; it’s that we are preventing guns from getting out on the street,” he said.

Police said handguns, shotguns and rifles yielded a $75 gift card to either Stop & Shop or Target. Assault weapons brought a $150 gift card.

The buyback was a collaborative effort between Mayor Toni Harp’s office, the Police Department and the city’s Department of Youth Services. The program is sponsored through an $8,000 donation from Yale-New Haven Hospital.