NYPD Melts Seized Guns in Blast Furnace

A social media video shows the department destroying hundreds of seized firearms, with the metal repurposed for other items.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Law Enforcement

Warm molten glow from a furnace mouth in a dim brick-and-steel industrial space, with rising steam and sparks under a plain steel gantry. — The New York Police Department posted a video on Monday showing hundreds of seized illegal guns, including rifles and handguns, being melted in a blast furnace. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The NYPD posted a 90-second video on social media Monday showing hundreds of seized firearms, including semiautomatic handguns and rifles, being dumped into a blast furnace and melted. The department says the metal is repurposed for other items.

Why it matters

The NYPD states that seized illegal guns are melted down so they never cause harm again. The practice removes weapons from circulation in New York City, where police regularly seize firearms.

The NYPD posted a 90-second video Monday showing hundreds of seized firearms destroyed in a blast furnace. The video does not specify the number of firearms destroyed or the current status of any related investigations.

The players

New York Police Department (NYPD)

The NYPD is the largest municipal police department in the United States, responsible for law enforcement across New York City's five boroughs.

Eric Adams

Eric Adams served as mayor of New York City before leaving office, and his administration celebrated the firearm destruction in April 2025.

The details

Police officers pushed carts carrying dozens of rifles and handguns into an NYPD box truck, then tossed the firearms into a container that was lifted into a blast furnace. The melted metal is poured to be used for other items.

April 2025: NYPD and then-Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the destruction of over 3,500 firearms.
Monday, November 2, 2026: NYPD posted the video on social media.

Legal Context

Public destruction of seized firearms has been a recurring practice for the NYPD, which has celebrated large-scale melts in prior years. The approach is intended to ensure confiscated weapons never re-enter circulation.

Residents of New York City benefit when seized firearms are permanently removed from circulation rather than stored or resold. The melting process is designed to prevent those weapons from being used in future crimes.

The takeaway

Permanently destroying seized firearms removes them from the streets entirely, a step the NYPD frames as preventing future harm. Readers following gun policy can track how departments report these destructions over time.