video transcript

(ROUGH CUT -- NO REPORTER NARRATION) Rio de Janeiro's officials destroyed 40,000 firearms with a road roller on Monday to mark International Day of Arms Destruction and raise awareness in their battle against violence in the tourist city. The anti-weapons task force has been collecting 1,200 firearms daily since the beginning of May and are expected to destroy 120,000 weapons by the end of the year, officials said. According to a survey by non-governmental groups released in 2011, there are an estimated 16 million guns in Brazil, eight million of which are not registered. Ninety percent are in the hands of civilians, including heavily armed drug gangsters who rule much of the country's sprawling and violent slums. The city's authorities have intensified efforts to reduce violence as Rio prepares to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.