An anonymous gun buyback event Saturday that was hosted by United Playaz — in partnership with SFPD and the Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention Services — had received over 200 surrendered firearms by noon.

Though the pandemic has helped mitigate violent crimes in San Francisco, gun violence still remains a large problem in the city. 2020 alone saw a 32 percent uptick of reporting gunfire shots in San Francisco over last year; Oakland has seen a 47 percent jump over the past twelve months — a worrying trend toward increased gun violence in the East Bay. In an effort to thwart more episodes of gun violence (and offer a no-questions-asked opportunity to hand over firearms), a City-participated gun buyback event was held from 8 a.m. to noon off 1038 Howard Street.

“Today we’re saving lives," says Rudy Corpuz, the founder of United Playaz — a SF-based violence prevention and youth development organization — to KRON4. "We have to eliminate senseless gun violence. That’s why we’re here today. I’m not against the second amendment, but I'm definitely against senseless gun violence.”

The news outlet notes that staff members were all using PPE, and the public was asked to wear face coverings when engaging with staff members; "socially distanced chairs" were also present for people to sit at while waiting to be helped. Gun locks were also given at no cost to any patrons who asked for them.

Past iterations of the event have seen hundreds of firearms surrounded — and yesterday's proved to also be a success with 228 firearms collected.

For more information on United Playaz, click here. While it appears that this will be the last gun buyback event of 2020, future ones will be listed (with all relevant information) at unitedplayaz.org/events.

Related: Oakland Police Chief Says Pandemic to Blame For Major Uptick In Homicides

Today's Bay Area-Wide Gun Buy-Backs Aim To Curb Gun Violence By Getting Firearms Off The Streets [2019]

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Image: Twitter via @SFPDSouthern