The NYPD NEWS account on November 2, 2026 carried a 90-second clip of confiscated firearms going into a blast furnace. Annual seizures are estimated at 5,000 to 7,000, the department claims more than 4,500 so far this year with two months left, about a third used in crimes, most of the rest for illegal possession, and a few hundred from buybacks. It publishes a yearly firearm-arrest tally but does not readily describe the fate of every seized gun, and many stolen from lawful owners are destroyed rather than returned.