LOS ANGELES >> There they were, neatly spread out on tables at the Los Angeles Police Department:

• An anti-tank rocket launcher

• An Uzi

• Assault rifles

• Pistols

• The list goes on …

The final count from last weekend’s anonymous gun buyback program was 772, officials announced Friday as they exhibited the weaponry, which was surrendered at locations in Mission Hills and South L.A.

Ultimately, all the confiscated guns will be melted into steel rebar, LAPD Officer Jennifer Rogers said.

But for now, Friday was a chance to send a message.

“Each one of these guns collected represents one less opportunity to take a life or to lose a life,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who joined LAPD Chief Charlie Beck at the buyback results news conference.

Upon surrendering weapons, individuals received Target gift cards for $100 or $200. The lower amount was issued for rifles, handguns and shotguns while the larger one was given for assault weapons.

A total of 370 handguns, 220 rifles, 143 shotguns and 39 assault weapons were relinquished, Garcetti said.

But even one gun surrendered had the potential to save lives, L.A. City Councilman Mitchell Englander said.

“Had we done all of this for one gun, it would have been a success,” said Englander, whose district includes Chatsworth, North Hills, Granada Hills and West Hills.

Englander said his uncle was gunned down 23 years ago in the San Fernando Valley when four teenagers shot him in the back as part of a gang initiation.

“This has not only been a tremendous success because there’s that many less guns, but there are that many less victims we will have, guaranteed, because these unwanted guns are off the street,” Englander said.

More than 16,000 guns have been handed over through buybacks since the program started in 2009, Englander said.

In 2008, over 1,600 people were hit by a bullet in Los Angeles, but the number fell by around 500 last year, Beck said. The city also experienced 384 homicides in 2008, but the number was 290 last year.

“The proof is in the pudding,” Beck said. “The proof is that we have a less violent society in Los Angeles because of gun buybacks, because of smart legislation, because of good cops and because of the strong will of the people to recognize that guns are what turns a minor dispute between young people on the street from a shouting match to a funeral.”

Bryan Fox, a detective for the LAPD’s Gang and Narcotics Division, said approximately 375 guns were surrendered from Mission Hills and 400 were relinquished from Los Angeles.

City News Service contributed to this report