“The ‘Piece for Peace’ program aims to bring attention to the devastating toll and impact that unneeded and unsecured guns can have on individuals and the public-at-large, and provides the opportunity for people to turn in unwanted guns and ammunition, no questions asked,” the statement said.

People can exchange guns anonymously at six Boston locations between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Walsh’s office and Boston police said in a statement Wednesday.

Boston cofficials are hosting a gun buyback Saturday on the seventh anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting and are offering $100 Target gift cards in exchange for the guns, Boston police and Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office said.


The city’s buybacks started after Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. Lanza killed 20 first-graders in their classrooms. The shooting prompted a nationwide debate about gun control laws and inspired gun buybacks across the country.

People attending Saturday’s event must turn in their guns, unloaded, in a clear plastic bag, police said. Officials will still prosecute anyone who committed a crime with a gun dropped off at the buyback.

“We all have a role to play in keeping guns out of the hands of children and those who would mean themselves or others harm. I encourage community members to take advantage of this opportunity – every gun off the street is a potential life saved,“ Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said in the statement.

Boston police confiscated more than 700 illegal firearms this year, police said.

“The safety and wellbeing of our residents is a top priority in Boston,” Walsh said in the statement. ”I encourage any Boston resident with an unwanted firearm to consider taking part in the ‘Piece for Peace’ effort.”

Officials will collect guns at six locations: 370 William F. McClellan Highway in East Boston; 215-217 Garfield Ave. in Hyde Park; 345 Old Colony Ave. in South Boston; St. Peter’s Parish and Greater Love Tabernacle Church in Dorchester; and the Salvation Army at 1500 Washington St. in Boston, the statement said.