Approximately 189 guns, including more than 100 semi-automatic weapons, were collected during the first buyback hosted by the Denver Broncos and the nonprofit RAWtools on Saturday.
The initiative aims to get guns off the streets of Denver and Aurora in 2022, melting them down so they can be turned into garden tools for community gardens.
Community activists, law enforcement, Denver youth, and Broncos linebacker Baron Browning met at Empower Field at Mile High to speak out against gun violence and speak to possible solutions.
Sharletta Evans, who lost her son, Casson, in 1995 to gun violence, has dedicated her life to the issue and spoke at the event Saturday.