SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Hampden County Gun Buy Back program has been a collaborative effort by the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office and Baystate Medical Center for decades.

The goal is to help create a safer community.

"So this is for injury prevention and it maybe also crime prevention," said Baystate Medical Center surgeon and Chief of Baystate Childrens Hosptial Dr. Moriarty. "So if somebody has an wanted gun in the home. Kids can find it. Kids are curious, and they could shoot themselves or a family member or friend."

Saturday morning's event saw over 50 guns dropped off at the Raymond Sullivan Safety Complex in Springfield including a ghost gun and an assault rifle. 

We spoke with a local longtime gun owner who took advantage of the weekend opportunity.

"I wanted to drop off a 38-caliber gun that I had purchased in San Francisco over 30 years ago," said East Longmeadow resident Ellie Walsh. "[I] moved here about 13 years ago and the gun came with me packed in a box and I decided it was time to get rid of it."

And the timing was great for Walsh too.

"Every time I had tried to do this before I was always a day late and dollar short," Walsh said. "So this morning I got here early.

According to a recent Pew Research data report, in 2021, more than 48,000 people died from gun related injuries in the U.S., and 54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides.

Moriarty said the effort is also important because it prevents people from possibly harming themselves.

"If somebody has suicidal thoughts if they have access to a firearm," said Moriarty. "They could be pretty successful and sometime guns are stolen from peoples' homes."

A $50 gift card to Big Y was rewarded for turning in a handgun, rifle, or shotgun, and two Big Y gift cards for an assault weapon.