Wilmington Police destroy weapons in effort to make streets safer

Wilmington Police took a big step in making city streets a little safer Wednesday. The department destroyed more than 150 weapons.

The weapons were either confiscated, could not be returned to their owners, or were surrendered to be destroyed. Still, officers say they are still fighting an up hill battle.

“The problem isn’t with law abiding citizens, the problem is there is almost a black market if you will of guns on the street,” said Sgt. Thomas Tilman. “Most of these firearms were not purchased by legal means; they were purchased via the black market. A lot of these firearms are substandard firearms.”

Officers also destroyed evidence from drug cases. Plus, the police department gave $50,000 from criminal cases to New Hanover County schools.