Gun Buyback Blunder: Stolen Glock Hits Streets Again

When the story first broke, it sounded too bizarre to be true: a woman in Chicago was shot with a gun that had already been turned in to the police during a buyback event. But as strange as it sounds, this story is very real—and it’s raising troubling questions about how the city handles surrendered firearms.

In August 2023, Twanda Willingham was shot in the arm while standing outside her home. The bullet came from a Glock 21 pistol—a powerful handgun known for its stopping power. But what makes this case especially shocking is what investigators found later: that same Glock had been turned in months earlier during a Chicago Police Department gun buyback event. Somehow, it vanished from police custody and ended up back on the streets.

Now, Willingham is suing the city of Chicago. According to court documents and reports from Fox 32, the gun was handed over to police in a so-called “safe exchange” program meant to take guns off the street. But instead of being destroyed or properly logged, the weapon went missing while being moved from the event site to a nearby police station—just a few blocks away.

That’s where things get even murkier. The gun was supposed to be stored in a secure police facility. But according to the lawsuit, the Glock disappeared in a room full of officers. During the internal investigation, officials discovered something suspicious: the ID tag that was meant to track the Glock had been placed on a different gun. The real tag was later found in the trash. That’s not an accident. That’s evidence of a cover-up.

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) broke the story wide open with details from the legal filing. Their report says the gun’s disappearance was likely not a mistake but a deliberate act of theft—by someone inside the police department. The tagging switch made it harder to trace the gun, allowing it to slip away unnoticed. The Glock then somehow made its way into the hands of a 16-year-old boy, who was caught with it in April 2025. He hasn’t said how he got the gun.

And if you thought this story couldn’t get any more strange, there’s one more twist. The officer listed in the inventory records tied to the Glock later died in what the department has called a “friendly fire” incident. He was shot and killed by another officer during a police chase. Whether this has anything to do with the missing gun is unknown, but it adds more mystery to an already troubling case.

Willingham’s lawsuit accuses the city of gross negligence and misconduct. She claims the city failed to keep a dangerous weapon off the streets, even after it had been voluntarily turned in. And she has a strong case. If someone inside the department really did steal the Glock, not only did they break the law—they put innocent lives at risk. And in Willingham’s case, she paid the price with a bullet wound.

Gun buyback programs are supposed to make communities safer. People turn in guns, usually no questions asked, in exchange for gift cards or cash. The idea is to get unwanted weapons out of homes and off the streets. But if the very police handling those guns can’t be trusted to secure them, the entire system breaks down.

This case is a wake-up call. The city of Chicago has struggled with gun violence for years, and trust in law enforcement has already been shaken by past scandals. Incidents like this only make things worse.

Right now, the city hasn’t explained exactly how the gun went missing. They also haven’t said what changes, if any, will be made to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.

What we do know is this: a woman got shot with a gun that should never have been on the street. And until someone is held accountable, the public is left wondering if these buyback events are really making anyone safer—or just giving people false hope.

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