The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with Crimeline, will host a Gas for Guns program Aug. 16 which encourages residents to bring in unwanted guns, reducing the chance of guns falling into the wrong hands.

Gas for Guns is designed to encourage residents to trade in their guns for $50 gas cards. The gas cards will be purchased with proceeds from the forfeiture fund which contains money seized by the Sheriff’s Office as a result of being connected with a commission of a felony crime. Other law enforcement agencies in Central Florida are sponsoring similar programs that day.

“The goal is to encourage citizens to turn in unwanted firearms to remove them from our community,” stated Sheriff Bob Hansell.

The Gas for Guns event will take place Aug. 16 at Osceola Heritage Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane in Kissimmee, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This event is completely anonymous with no questions asked, spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said.

All firearms should be in a plastic bag, unloaded and safely secured. If you cannot unload the gun, leave it in your vehicle and a deputy will remove it from your car.

This is the fifth year the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has participated in Gas for Guns. In previous years, the Sheriff’s Office collected more than 406 weapons.