BATON ROUGE, LA (WVLA) In an effort to reduce the number of unsecured firearms on the streets, Mayor Kip Holden along with BRPD, the Sheriff's Office and Circle K teamed up for the Gas for Guns Exchange program held Saturday from 10 am until 2 PM. The program allowed area residents to safely dispose of guns and ammunition they no longer wanted or needed. In exchange for the guns, those who participated received Circle K gas cards valued from $50 to $200.
The program was held at 4 area churches across the East Baton Rouge Parish. The gun totals were as follows:
Gardere: 45 guns including a replica toy of an AK 47
East Blvd.: 39 guns including an AK 47 "street sweeper" assault style shotgun
Winbourne: 104 guns including 2 AK 47's, 2 tech nines, and 4-5 other assault style rifles
Ford: 71 guns including 1 AK 47, 1 tech nine, 1 mac 11, and several other assault style rifles
Each site collected numerous sawed off shotguns, handguns and rifles.
The total count of all the guns is estimated at 259.
A total of $26,000 in gas certificates is estimated to have been exchanged.