The Annapolis Police Department is hosting a gun return event Saturday

Annapolis police will host a gun return event Saturday where residents can turn their guns over to law enforcement, no questions asked.

The event will be held in the police headquarters parking lot on Taylor Ave. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 199 instead.

Police officers are asking residents who wish to participate to unload their firearms before arriving on Saturday.

Department spokesman Miguel Dennis also said it is preferable that only officers handle the weapons during the handover process. As he pulls into the parking lot, an officer encounters a vehicle and asks where the firearm is before removing it himself.

Dennis said there would be “no questions asked” about the returned weapons, including illegal “ghost guns” – homemade firearms that have been banned in Maryland since 2022.

Unlike gun buyback programs, residents who turn in a firearm do not receive any money.

The one-day event is the first of its kind for the Annapolis Police Department, said department spokesman Miguel Dennis.

“We’re trying to get a handle on the gun problem in Annapolis,” Dennis said, “and this is one way to do that.

As of Wednesday, Annapolis police have responded to 15 shootings this year, including one homicide. At this time last year, they had responded to 18 shootings with seven non-fatal gunshot victims and two homicides.

By the end of last year, Annapolis reported nine murders, a dramatic increase from the one murder in 2022.