Gun buyback program returning to Akron as concern over gun violence increases in the city

As concern over gun violence has increased, a relatively rare method of getting guns off of the streets is returning to Akron. For the first time since 2019, and only the second time since 2008, a gun buyback event will take place in the city next month.

This year's program, set for Dec. 3 at the Arlington Church of God in East Akron, is being coordinated by Summit County Council in conjunction with the Summit County sheriff's and prosecutor’s offices. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, 539 S. Arlington St.

The Rev. Charles Myricks Jr., senior pastor at the church, said the program is a step forward for the community and will hopefully have an impact on his church's East Akron neighborhood, which has seen five gun deaths this year, including an incident in September where a bystander was shot by a store clerk at a Lovers Lane gas station.

"We're proud to participate in the partnership. We recognize the opportunity to make our community a safer place," Myricks said. "I'm grateful that Summit County government set these dollars aside for this program."

"You don't know the sources of all the violence, but you know that guns are involved," he added. "So, to the degree that we can help to have a fewer number of guns, in homes even, instead of contributing to crime and criminal activity − just reducing the accessibility to guns ... it's an opportunity to educate while at the same time removing some guns from circulation."

Support local journalism:6 reasons why you should subscribe to the Akron Beacon Journal

Myricks said shootings in the neighborhood affect people for many days and weeks after they occur.

"We had someone killed around the block just recently," he said. "It causes families to kind of retreat indoors more ... it's not just a single bullet being fired. ... It doesn't happen every day, but the loss of life covers a lot of middle space in terms of occupying people's thoughts. We've dealt with that more than we would have liked to. ...

"If you remove the guns from the dialogue ... hopefully you don't have as much loss of life and hopefully you don't have as much loss of a sense of safety that families have, with children who are out playing in the community."

The pastor also noted the importance of getting guns out of households to lower the risk of suicides or of child-related accidents.

While the number of homicides in the city peaked in 2020, gun seizures and gun crimes have dropped in 2022.

The Akron Police Department reports officers seized 832 firearms as of October, a rate 24% lower than in 2021, when 1,009 were seized. Likewise, firearm-related incidents decreased 16%, from 587 to 526 through October.

It was unclear how the statistics are affected by the state's new open-carry law, which allows those who are authorized to purchase a firearm to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.

Gift cards, gun locks, information to be offered at Akron event

County Council created the voluntary Summit County Gun Buyback and Safety Training Initiative in August, allowing the county executive buy as much as $55,000 worth of gift cards for a gun buyback, gun locks, educational materials, advertising and other related program expenses.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office will operate the program. Community partners include the Arlington Church of God and the Akron NAACP, which donated funding to buy the gun locks.

Gift cards to either Dave’s Supermarket or Acme Fresh Market will be given out to people who turn in guns. Gift cards of $150 will be given for operable guns and $25 for inoperable guns, while supplies last, with a limit of three guns per person. Guns will be accepted with no questions asked, organizers said. They have asked that guns be unloaded prior to arrival at the event.

Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree said the program may help mitigate the rise in gun violence.

“We cannot know the history of every gun that’s turned in, but we can at least ensure that those guns can’t ever be used in a crime or suicide, or be discovered by a child, and that is a net gain for our entire community,” she said in a release.

County Council member Erin Dickinson, D-at-large, co-sponsored the legislation with fellow council members Veronica Sims, D-District 5, John Schmidt, D-District 2, along with council as a whole and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.

“Through my work in our communities as a leader with Moms Demand Action, I’ve seen how devastating it is when guns fall into the wrong hands,” Dickinson said. “Firearm-related deaths surpassed auto accidents as the leading cause of death in children in 2020, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. It is my hope that the gun buyback and safety training program will help mitigate such awful firearm-related incidents.”

Cleveland buyback program to restart

The Cleveland area has held a gun buyback program for years, and after a break due to the COVID pandemic it is set to restart this year, said Rick DeChant, executive director of the Cleveland Police Foundation.

The last event was in 2020, and the foundation is seeking sponsors for a program in spring 2023, DeChant said.

The annual program has removed over 3,300 operable firearms from Cleveland’s neighborhoods, organizers say. The goal for the upcoming campaign is $15,000 to collect 150 firearms.

"We're looking for any way and any opportunity to get guns off the street," DeChant said. "It's not the answer, but it's a start to getting guns off the street."

Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Gun buyback program returns to Akron after concern over violence