ROCKFORD – Nearly 400 weapons seized by Woodstock police were destroyed Thursday at the Behr Iron & Metal recycling plant in Rockford.

Handguns, knives and rifles – including an automatic rifle similar to an AK-47 – were run through an alligator shear, which snapped and rendered the weapons useless. Machetes, samurai swords, a meat cleaver and a brass knuckle/knife combination also were destroyed.

In total, there were 150 to 170 guns and an additional 200 knives, with a total value of about $75,000, a Behr employee said.