Evanston Police Department, Evanston Community Foundation, Faith Temple Missionary Baptist Church, and local anti-violence activist Carolyn Murray will host a gun buyback event from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 5.
The event, which takes place at Faith Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 1711 Simpson Street, allows Evanston residents (and residents of Skokie and Chicago's north side) to turn in unwanted firearms so they are not at risk of being stolen or misused.
This event is amnesty-based, which means that no arrest will be made for those turning in guns.
Please Note:
-- Guns must be unloaded, fully assembled, and operable
-- Weapons should be transported in a case, bag, box or other supporting item or in the trunk of a vehicle
-- Must have ID and be a resident of Evanston, Skokie or Northside of Chicago
-- First come, first served
-- $100.00 per gun. Payment will be made for up to 3 weapons
-- Amnesty-based = no arrests
-- Masks are required to attend the event
-- Social distancing must be practiced.
Guns that are turned in are destroyed in accordance with local and federal guidelines.
This is Evanston's eighth gun buy-back. The first one was suggested and organized by Carolyn Murray and her son Justin and took place on December 15, 2012.
"Christ Temple was the first church our original event was held at, so I have a lot of memories still," Murray says. Tragically, Justin was shot and killed in Evanston on November 29, 2012, just two weeks before the event.
EPD's last buy-back took place in December 2018 and collected 59 guns. You can read about that event here. Prior to that event, I spoke with Evanston resident Jacqui Fomond about gun violence. The father of Jacqui's three children, Ray Owens, lost his life to gun violence in Evanston in 2015. Watch that interview here.
I also talked with Dereka Ross who lost her children's father Cardereon Preister to gun violence in Evanston in 2013.
You can watch the interview here.
While gun buy-backs will not solve the deeply rooted issue of gun violence, they offer one tool that can help reduce injury or harm by getting unwanted weapons out of people's homes.
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