Four of the five ceremonial rifles stolen over a year ago from the Baty-Tucker American Legion Post in Knoxville have been recovered.

Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada tells KNIA/KRLS News his officers were notified after a local business person found the missing guns on their property.

“We went to that location, which was located within a block of the Legion, and found four of the stolen weapons. They appear to have been left outside for over a year, so they were in…challenging shape, shall we say,” Chief Losada says.

The rifles were used to fire ceremonial salutes at veterans’ funerals, and had been modified to only fire blanks. Losada says putting in live ammunition could have caused the guns to explode.

The five rifles were taken during a break-in at the Memorial Hall in February of 2018. Police are still looking for the fifth weapon.