What to know about ghost guns after one used in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

(ALTOONA, Pa.) — The firearm found on the suspect in the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is believed to have been an untraceable ghost gun, according to police.

Police have said they believe the gun was 3D printed, and that it had no serial number. The silencer may have been 3D printed as well, they said.

The ghost gun was discovered in suspect Luigi Mangione’s possession upon his arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Police have not yet confirmed if it’s the same weapon used in Brian Thompson’s killing, but NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said it was “consistent with the weapon used in the murder.”

In a criminal complaint, Altoona Police Department officer said Mangione had “a black 3D-printed pistol and a black silencer,” which they described as having “a metal slide and a plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel.”

“The pistol had one loaded Glock magazine with six nine-millimeter full metal jacket rounds. There was also one loose nine-millimeter hollow point round,” the officers wrote. “The silencer was also 3D printed.”

Ghost guns, or privately made firearms without serial numbers, have surged in popularity in recent years. Due to the difficulty — or even impossibility — of tracing their origins, they can be an ideal weapon for those not legally permitted to own a gun, such as convicted felons or minors. Because of this, they are frequently the weapon of choice used in crimes.

Many ghost guns are homemade, typically 3D printed or assembled from kits that can be easily purchased online.

Due to their lack of serial numbers, it is impossible to know exactly how many exist, but thousands have been recovered from crime scenes in recent years.

About 45,240 suspected ghost guns were recovered from crime scenes between 2016 and 2021 — 692 of which were homicides or attempted homicides, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In 2022, the Department of Justice said it had “recovered 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures, as well as 2,453 through international operations.”

Though ghost guns are legal in the U.S., in recent years, lawmakers have begun pushing for stronger legislation to curb the proliferation of these firearms.

In 2022, President Joe Biden announced new measures that would require gun kits to include serial numbers — a move that has been swept up in litigation ever since as manufacturers fight regulation.

According to gun control advocacy group Everytown — which has called ghost guns the “fastest-growing gun safety problem facing our country” — there are 15 states that currently have laws governing the use of these firearms.

Many of these states require ghost guns to have serial numbers, and for their owners to go through background checks. Some require owners to disclose their ghost guns to officials.