Northampton County

Gun buyback set for Oct. 1

The Northampton County District Attorney’s Office will hold its first anonymous Gun Buyback from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1. The rain or shine event is with the assistance of the Colonial Regional Police Department, City of Bethlehem Police Department and the Hecktown and Bethlehem City fire departments.

County residents do not need to show proof of ID. Residents will receive payment ranging from $50 to $200 in grocery gift cards, based upon the condition of rifles, handguns, shotguns and semi-automatic weapons. Ammunition is accepted, but not for payment.

Residents are asked to safely transport their unloaded firearms in the trunk of their vehicle. The buyback locations are either Hecktown Fire Company, 230 Nazareth Pike, Lower Nazareth; or the Bethlehem City Fire Department, 2412 Easton Ave., Bethlehem.

Once the firearm is surrendered, it becomes the property of the police department. All guns go through a ballistic test to see if any are evidence in unsolved crimes. If so, those will be retained as evidence; all other weapons will be destroyed.