COLUMBIA, Md. (CBSDC/AP) — Howard County police replenished artillery Saturday after buying back guns from its residents.

The buyback, which was held in the Dorsey Building in Columbia from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, was the first of its kind in Howard County since 1995.

Residents were asked to bring in any firearms they no longer had use for in exchange for a cool $100 for each gun. Free gun locks were also being administered on site, and available officers were teaching gun safety information to help prevent accidental shootings.

Along with the police department and the county’s police chief, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman was in attendance with various other officials.

The initial buyback was such a huge success, he says Howard County is already considering holding more in the future.

“Clearly there’s a need,” Ulman said. “I’ve talked to a few people here who basically the line generally is ‘I inherited some guns’ or ‘I’ve had an old gun in my closet and I’ve been waiting to get rid of it.’”

A total of 631 guns – 314 handguns, 168 rifles, 149 shotguns – were collected during the buyback in exchange for approximately $63,000, well surpassing the 250 guns police predicted to collect.

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Police in Howard County buy back guns from residents for $100. (Credit: Cameron Thompson/All-News 99.1 WNEW)