Weapons seized in LA County to be destroyed

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. At a news conference in Monterey Park, Baca showed off the rifles, pistols, knives and even a homemade cannon that have been seized by law enforcement agencies across the county, including Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Hermosa Beach, Long Beach and West Covina.

According to Baca, California law requires weapon seized by the sheriff's department be destroyed annually.

The weapons will be melted down and the metal will be converted into rebar to be used to build schools and buildings. Baca said the metal will also be used to upgrade freeways and bridges in California, Arizona and Nevada.

The effort is called "/*Project Isaiah*/." It has been going on since 1993 when several Southern California law enforcement agencies delivered confiscated firearms to the Tamco Steel Mill in Rancho Cucamonga to be melted and recycled into steel rebar.