Rockville Gun Buyback Trades Firearms for Cash

Dozens of residents surrendered firearms at Red Gate Park in exchange for $100 gift cards during the city's fourth annual buyback event.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Violence

Photograph of a weathered wooden park bench beside a gravel path at a mown lawn edge, with oak trees and a brick wall behind it under soft overcast light. — Dozens of Rockville residents traded firearms for $100 gift cards at Red Gate Park on Saturday during the city's fourth annual gun buyback, run with the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you support your local police holding gun buyback events in your community?

Rockville held its gun buyback event in Red Gate Park on Saturday morning, in partnership with the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. Dozens of people traded firearms for $100 gift cards, and all collected guns are destroyed.

Why it matters

The program is designed to keep firearms from ending up in the wrong hands. It marks the fourth year the City of Rockville has hosted the buyback, which has collected more than 300 guns annually.

The buyback is a voluntary program run by the Rockville Police Department with firearms instructors verifying that weapons are unloaded and eligible. Final collection totals for the November 7 event were not yet available.

The players

Rockville Police Department

The municipal police agency of Rockville, Maryland, which ran the buyback event with its officers and firearms instructors.

Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office

The prosecutorial office for Montgomery County, Maryland, which partnered with the city on the buyback event.

The details

Participants drove up with firearms in their trunks, and an officer came out to collect them. Officers checked each weapon to confirm it was unloaded and eligible before issuing a $100 gift card, and collected guns are placed in bins and destroyed. Some people arrived more than an hour early, with the first in line being an 81-year-old resident.

Saturday, November 7, 2026: Rockville gun buyback held in Red Gate Park, with lines forming more than an hour before the start.

Legal Context

Rockville's buyback is part of a county-level pattern in which the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office works with municipalities to remove firearms from circulation through voluntary surrender. The fourth consecutive year of the program places this event within an established local framework rather than a one-time initiative.

Residents with unwanted firearms in their homes can surrender them through the program and receive a $100 gift card per weapon. The event provides a no-questions-asked option for safe disposal of guns that might otherwise be stored unsecured in households.