New Bedford Gun Exchange Called Highly Successful

Organizers of a weekend gun buyback program in New Bedford say they took about 140 weapons off city streets, three times as many as a similar event last year.

The Rev. David Lima, executive minister of the Inter-Church Council, which joined local law enforcement agencies to sponsor the exchange, called the community response overwhelming.

The total number of guns collected will not be known until later on Monday.

Lima tells The Standard-Times that higher rewards for turning in a firearm, the depressed economy and better publicity all played a part in Sunday's response.

The program provided gift cards of as much as $100 for people who turned in guns no questions asked at several city churches.