Updated

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have destroyed roughly 2,000 firearms and plan to use the mangled metal to build a monument promoting peace.

Attorney General Francisco Dominguez and other officials gathered Monday to watch a steamroller destroy a haul of guns seized by police.

The metal from the destroyed weapons will be given to sculptor Jose Ignacio Morales, who has been commissioned to build a peace memorial. It's not yet clear where the sculpture will be located.

In recent years, some 70 percent of the Caribbean country's nearly 2,000 annual killings have been carried out with guns. Police and interior ministry officials estimate there are roughly 200,000 guns in the nation of over 10 million people.