LAWRENCE, Mass. — A Massachusetts police department says they are in the process of disposing close to 400 firearms accumulated over the years.

The Eagle-Tribune reports the Lawrence Police Department is destroying the weapons as part of a property audit. Police say the guns were turned in, used as evidence in closed cases or never claimed by their owners.

Police say the weapons are currently being cataloged. They will then be sent to the Maine-based business Gunbusters, which scraps firearms for metal at no charge.

Some of the weapons to be destroyed include sawed-off shotguns, assault rifles and BB guns.

While other departments sell firearms collected over the years, Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick says he would “rather take them off the streets.”

Gunbusters’ headquarters is located in Chsterfield, Missouri, and has six locations, including the New England affiliate, located in Hermon, Maine.


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