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The Town of Hamden hosted its first “gun buy back” event on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hamden Police Station. The purpose of the event was to make the Town of Hamden safer, as well as help prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.

Other communities in Connecticut have hosted successful gun buy back events, which prompted Hamden town officials to host one of their own.

“What gave me the idea to do, I saw a demonstration of the sorts into plowshares where they were actually taking guns and using blacksmith tools to turn them into garden tools,” said Adam Sendroff, community development manager. “I asked where they got those guns, and they said New Haven buy backs. It made me think. ‘Why don’t we have one in Hamden?’”

Overall, the event collected more than 149 guns, a bigger turnout than expected.

“I didn’t know what to expect since this was our first time doing it,” said John Capiello, chief of the Hamden Police Department. “We were a little worried we wouldn’t get anybody, so when we did see people lining up it made us feel a little better, but I didn’t expect to get the numbers we got.”

Once the guns are turned in, Hamden police will sort through them. Depending on the type of gun, some will be turned into the state, while others will be destroyed. Some guns will be turned into garden tools as well.

A company called Rawtools collects guns from buy backs like the Hamden one and re-purposes them.

“We use what we can to make garden tools to support our work,” said Mike Martin, founder and executive director of Rawtools. “What we can’t make into garden tools, we make into art or other items that will be sold to support other organizations working at the intersection of gun violence.”

Free gun locks and car safes were also provided for owners who did not want to dispose of their guns but safely secure them.

The gun buy back was an anonymous event. In exchange for turning in their guns, residents and nonresidents of Hamden received gift cards to various locations.