Middlesex County Sheriff's Office Nets 50 Unwanted Guns

Local authorities are hard at work keeping North Reading safe.

North Reading was one of five municipalities in Middlesex County to participate in the month-long initiative.

Events were held June 11 in Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge and June 18 in Watertown. The final gun buyback will take place on June 25 in Somerville.

The regional gun buyback program is a collaboration between the five police departments, various community and faith-based organizations and the Middlesex Sheriff's Office to provide residents with a safe and secure method of disposing of unwanted firearms from their homes.

"Nationwide more than 20,000 people commit suicide with a firearm and another 16,000 are injured in unintentional shootings each year," Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said in a press release announcing the buyback. "Providing residents with an avenue to safely dispose of unwanted firearms makes our communities – and especially our homes – safer, and we are proud to support our partners in this effort."