The Oakland, California, Police Department has destroyed more than 2,000 guns since 2010. Some were surrendered or purchased in buyback programs, while many were recovered during criminal investigations. All were melted down at a foundry in East Oakland.

Each gun has its own story. Data recently released by the department in response to a public records request provide a glimpse of those tales.

The numbers provide a glimpse of the kinds of weapons recovered on the streets of the Oakland, where there were 489 homicides during the same five-year period, data collected by the city show. Oakland has a history of tracking guns used to commit crimes and was one of a handful of cities nationally to participate in a now-defunct gun trace initiative by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On average, roughly one to two guns are entered into the urban police department’s inventory per day. Some are never melted down and instead used for training or stripped for parts needed for ballistics tests, among other things.

About twice a year, truckloads of guns destined to be destroyed are melted down in batches called “burns.” The last one happened in September.

Here’s a look at the guns that have been fed into a furnace:


Aaron Williams is a news applications developer for Reveal, focusing on front-end development, data analysis and data visualization. He previously served as a web producer for the Los Angeles Times and received a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Francisco State University. Williams is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.