EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — Some 1,200 guns surrendered or seized in recent years have been melted down in a blast furnace of an Indiana steel mill.

The guns destroyed at ArcelorMittal’s East Chicago mill on Tuesday included about 500 that had been collected over the past three yeas in programs sponsored by the Twin City Ministerial Alliance. The Rev. Darnell Johnson says the remaining weapons were cleared out of the East Chicago Police Department’s storage.

The ministers group obtained 107 guns during a buyback last month when it gave out grocery store gift certificates for the firearms.

Johnson says the ministers feel the program helps make the city safer by removing guns from the streets.