Houston 3rd gun buyback collected nearly 800 guns, people had issues with gift cards

HOUSTON - Houston held its third gun buyback event Saturday morning and it was an overall success, officials say.

According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the gun buyback event held at Deussen Park received 793 guns with more than 400 Houstonians participating

"The @HCSOTexas collected hundreds of guns today. I believe each weapon collected may potentially prevent a child, a domestic violence abuser, someone with mental health issues or intent on committing a violent crime from getting their hands on that gun," tweeted Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Participants received gift cards said to be funded by American Rescue Plan Act in exchange for turning in their firearms. The gift card varied in the amount of $50, $100, $150, and $200 – depending on the type of gun the person turned in.

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Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said gun buybacks are necessary to reduce gun violence sparked by the state’s dangerous gun laws. Since 2009, more people have died in mass shootings in Texas than in any other state, according to a report by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organization.

"Harris County is mobilizing its resources with absolute urgency in a full-court press to reduce gun violence in our communities," Commissioner Ellis said. "We may not control gun laws, but we are not powerless to take guns off the street."

The previous gun buyback event collected a record number of firearms totaling more than 1,200.

According to Sheriff Gonzalez, the guns and rifles collected from the buyback are destroyed.

Those who participated in the third gun buyback have reportedly expressed issues redeeming their gift card codes.

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As of 6 p.m., Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis released an update on the issue and said, "We've received confirmation from the vendor that the issue has been resolved and all gift cards are now working. Please reach out to our office if there are any other issues"

Commissioner Ellis previously issued the following statement when the problems first arrived:

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"We are hearing reports of problems with the online gift cards issued at today’s gun buyback. To all those who are having issues, please know that we share your frustration and we are working with the gift card vendor, Online Rewards, to make this right. They have informed us that this is a technical problem that is being fixed and promised that the issue will be resolved on Monday. Please redeem your gift card at that time. If you continue to have issues, contact our office at Comm_Ellis@cp1.hctx.net.

We are committed to ensuring that every person who turned in a firearm today gets compensated."