After a bloody stretch in the state’s capital, Montgomery officials are working to get guns off the streets by appealing to people's pocketbooks.
The Montgomery Advertiser reports CrimeStoppers and the Central Alabama Community Foundation partnered for a gun buyback program this past weekend, where people were offered cash in exchange for turning in weapons. Rifles, shotguns and functioning handguns were worth $50 each, and weapons considered high-capacity – able to shoot more than a regular 12-round magazine – were worth $100.
The buyback comes after a particularly violent stretch in the city. Since June 15, nine people have been killed in gun violence in Montgomery – one of them a nine-year-old girl.
The Montgomery Advertiser reports dozens of guns were turned in within hours at the buyback. Those weapons will be destroyed by the Montgomery Police Department after a check to see if any were stolen or had been used in a crime.