The guy who was taken into custody on Monday in relation to the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is accused of possessing a handmade weapon known as a “ghost gun.”
When New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione on firearms charges in Altoona, Pennsylvania, he carried a “ghost gun that had the capability of firing 9 mm round and a suppressor,” he told reporters. Mangione was labeled a strong person of interest by the police.
The weapon discovered in Mangione’s hands seems to be comparable to the one used in the Manhattan murder, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. The weapon, according to Kenny, “may have been made on a 3D printer.”
What are ghost guns?
“Ghost guns” are firearms that can be put together at home using online-purchased parts. These parts typically don’t have serial numbers and can be acquired without background checks.
How long have ghost guns been around?
Although do-it-yourself kits have been available since the 1990s, their use has skyrocketed recently, particularly among criminals.
Between January 2016 and December 2021, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, weapons, and Explosives received around 45,000 complaints of suspected privately manufactured weapons found by law enforcement in criminal investigations, including 692 homicides or attempted homicides.
The Justice Department reports that the number of ghost weapons found increased substantially in each of those years, from 1,758 in 2016 to 19,344 in 2021.
Additionally, technology has contributed to the sharp rise. For example, online videos explaining how to build firearms have received millions of views, and some vendors provide 3D printing files so that buyers may print and assemble the weapons themselves without the need for serial numbers.
In a 2022 fact sheet, the Justice Department stated that it is very challenging to track down firearms without serial numbers. According to ATF, only 0.98% of the alleged ghost weapons that law enforcement turned in could be linked to specific buyers.
What is the government doing about the issue?
With the finalization of a rule mandating gun kit manufacturers to place serial numbers on firearms and sellers to adhere to the same standards as regular guns, including needing background checks for transactions, President Joe Biden announced limits on the sale of ghost guns in 2022.
According to Biden, many criminals choose these firearms as their preferred weaponry, and we will stop at nothing to deny them that option.
A Texas federal judge and an appeals court have ruled against the Biden administration in legal challenges to the ATF rule by gun rights organizations and manufacturers.
The U.S. Supreme Court will render a decision in the upcoming months after hearing oral arguments on the Biden plan in October. The high court has twice decided that the rule can continue to be in effect in the meantime.
Meanwhile, proponents of gun control have been pleading with Congress to seal the loopholes and make the regulation a law. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that works to reduce gun violence, more than a dozen states have already enacted legislation governing ghost weapons.
Along with others, the group has been calling on Congress to act on 3D-printed firearms, whose rules were lifted by the Trump administration in 2020. Although they are not prohibited by federal law, the ATF states that it is unlawful to sell them without a license and that they must be able to be detected by X-ray scanners and metal detectors. According to Everytown, several states also have their own laws that restrict or outright prohibit the weapons.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!