In just over two weeks, the gun amnesty program has collected more than 60 weapons from Surrey residents.
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This month, police across B.C. started collecting firearms during the annual Gun Amnesty.
The program is designed to get unwanted guns out of B.C. homes, making them safer for everyone in them, and reduces the chance they will fall into the wrong hands due to theft.
During the first two and half weeks of the month long BC Gun Amnesty, the following weapons were turned in to the Surrey RCMP for safe disposal:
-38 rifles
-19 shotguns
-4 handguns
-10 replica/pellet guns
-10,000 individual rounds of ammunition
Cpl. Bert Paquet shows off some of the 71 firearms turned in to @SurreyRCMP so far for #BCGunAmnesty pic.twitter.com/014fJ0SD29
— BC RCMP Media (@BCRCMPMedia) June 19, 2013
Of particular note, a number of historic rifles, possibly relics from previous military operations, have been turned in as well as materials used in the making of homemade ammunition.
"Many times we will receive guns and firearms from families whose previous generations have passed on and they no longer want them in their homes," said Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet. "This is exactly what we are looking for as we prefer to see these turned in to us rather than have them lost or stolen and used for criminal purposes.”
Mounties are renewing their call for people to bring in their unwanted firearms, imitation weapons and ammunition before the end of the month.
Residents are encouraged to turn them in by calling the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 to arrange for a police officer to pick up the weapons. For safety reasons, people are asked not to deliver weapons to the detachment or our district offices and not to answer their door with a weapon in their hand when the officer arrives.