What are ghost guns, the weapon linked to UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting?

A homemade weapon found in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has raised significant concerns about the rising prevalence of 'ghost guns'

If you believe firearms are difficult for ordinary people to obtain, think again. In an era of Artificial Intelligence and 3D printing, crafting a weapon at home is no longer a distant possibility. The recent arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has raised concerns over assembly and use of an untraceable firearms known as ‘ghost gun’.

 

Mangione, who was identified as a ‘strong person of interest’ in the investigation, was arrested on weapons charges in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Authorities revealed that he possessed a homemade firearm capable of firing 9 mm rounds and was equipped with a suppressor.

 

 

New York Police Department Chief of Detectives, Joseph Kenny, stated that the weapon found in Mangione’s possession appears to be similar to the one used in the Manhattan murder. The gun, Kenny suggested, could have been produced using a 3D printer, further highlighting the growing concern over ghost guns, as reported by NBC News.

 

What are ghost guns? 

‘Ghost guns’ refer to firearms that can be assembled at home from parts that can be purchased online. These parts are often sold without background checks and lack serial numbers, making the guns nearly impossible to trace. Though DIY firearm kits have existed since the 1990s, their popularity has surged in recent years, especially among criminals.

 

Between 2016 and 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the US received about 45,000 reports of suspected ghost guns recovered during criminal investigations, including 692 homicides or attempted homicides.

 

The number of ghost guns recovered steadily increased each year — from 1,758 in 2016 to a staggering 19,344 in 2021 in the US. The rise has been attributed to the growing availability of online videos teaching people how to assemble ghost guns and the sale of 3D-printable files that allow individuals to create their own firearms without serial numbers.

 

The challenges of ghost guns

 

One of the biggest challenges with ghost guns is that firearms without serial numbers are incredibly difficult to trace. The US ATF has reported it was able to trace only 0.98 per cent of suspected ghost guns submitted by law enforcement to their purchasers, exacerbating concerns over law enforcement's ability to track criminal activity involving these weapons.

 

Government actions and legal challenges 

In 2022, President Joe Biden took steps to curb the growing threat of ghost guns by introducing new regulations. The rule mandates that makers of gun kits affix serial numbers on firearms and requiring sellers to comply with the same background check protocol like those for traditional firearms. Biden emphasised that these guns have become “the weapons of choice for many criminals”, and his administration has vowed to “do everything [we can] to deprive them of that choice”.

 

However, gun rights groups and manufacturers in the US have fought back, challenging the ATF’s rule in court. A federal judge in Texas, alongside an appeals court, ruled against the Biden administration, and the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the issue in October. While the court has yet to issue a final ruling, it has allowed the rule to remain in place temporarily.

 

A growing call for action 

In response to the surge in ghost gun-related violence, gun safety advocates are pushing for Congress to close legal loopholes and make the regulations permanent. More than a dozen states have already passed laws regulating ghost guns, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organisation. The group has also called for federal action on 3D-printed guns, which were made easier to manufacture under the Trump administration's loosening of regulations in 2020. Although no federal law specifically bans the making of 3D-printed guns, the ATF states that these firearms must be detectable by metal detectors and X-ray machines and cannot be made for sale without licenses.

 

[With agency inputs]