Mangione has been arrested on a gun charge in Pennsylvania. He was found at a McDonald’s in the state with a gun and a suppressor “both consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” authorities said, referring to a device that muffles the sound of a firearm.
New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the gun was a ghost gun “that had the capability of firing a 9mm round,” and it may have been 3D printed.
Ghost guns are a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace.
The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what’s known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.
Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers – usually displayed on the frame of the gun – that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser.
An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-per cent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no licence required.
Ghost guns aren’t new. But they are becoming a growing problem for law enforcement agencies across the US.
Federal officials have been sounding the alarm about the growing black market for homemade, military-style semi-automatic rifles and handguns. And guns without serial numbers have been turning up more frequently at crime scenes.
The number of ghost guns around the US has soared in recent years, going from fewer than 4000 in 2018 to nearly 20,000 recovered at crime scenes in 2021, according to Justice Department data
They have also been increasingly encountered when federal agents buy guns in undercover operations from gang members and other criminals.
Ghost guns really popped into US public consciousness in 2013 when a gunman, John Zawahri, opened fire on the campus of Santa Monica College in California. Six people were killed, including Zawahri’s father and brother. The suspect had assembled an AR-15 after failing a background check at a gun dealer.
In April 2022, the US federal government changed the definition of a firearm would to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun.
The also required those parts to be licensed and include serial numbers. Dealers would also need to run background checks before a sale — just like they do with other commercially made firearms.
But manufacturers and gun-rights groups pushed back in court. They argue federal authorities overreached by targeting a product that had long been legal.
