SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Gun hell – where weapons collected in Seattle go to die
Jan 10, 2013, 3:35 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
Twice a year, Seattle Police destroy weapons no longer needed in their evidence room. The process is the same as what the city will do with weapons collected later this month during a gun buy back program. (SPD Photo)
(SPD Photo)
What will happen to the guns collected by the Seattle Police Department and King County in the gun buyback announced this week?
The Seattle Police Department blotter shows how they’ll be recycled, the same way they melt down weapons from the evidence room twice a year.
During the department’s last semi-annual “gun burn” in September, 168 rifles, a few knives, BB guns, license plates, and computer hard drives were sent to the Nucor plant in West Seattle.
The guns were all either from closed investigations and court cases, or were turned into SPD by owners who no longer wanted them.
The SPD has some pictures and a colorful description of how the weapons are melted and remolded into products “which can be used to build things like the 520 Bridge or Optimus Prime.”
By LINDA THOMAS
