Hundreds of guns pulled from New York City streets will be melted down and crafted into a work of art that promotes peace, says the New York Daily News. The police department donated 946 weapons to artist Lin Evola, who will transform them into a 5-foot tall statue of a peace angel. The guns – including shotguns, handguns and assault rifles – were taken from suspects or turned in during buyback programs.
“They’ll be shredded here and ultimately melted down to form a large peace angel that we’ll prominently display at Police Headquarters,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a New Jersey recycling yard. “And of course, it’s symbolic,” Kelly said. “The idea is to turn guns into pieces of art.” Over the weekend, police recovered more than 350 guns in the Bronx through a buyback program hosted by three churches. Researchers say gun buybacks have little or no impact on the crime rate.
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