Ghost weapons in US: deadly and untraceable

According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of the beginning of December, 15,734 Americans have lost their lives to gun violence. In the first 11 months of 2024, the United States has witnessed 480 mass shootings and 28 mass killings with firearms.

These statistics are updated as the United States is facing a new dimension of the aforementioned crisis: ghost guns.

A ghost gun is a kind of handcrafted, undetectable pistol that gained notoriety in the US after Luigi Mangione shot and killed Brian Thompson, the CEO of a healthcare company.

According to the New York Police Department, Thompson was shot with a ghost gun, which was probably manufactured using a 3D printer and could fire 9mm rounds.

What is a ghost gun?

Guns that are transformed into working rifles by assembling parts that can be ordered separately are commonly referred to as "ghost guns."

Although they have existed since the 1990s, they gained notoriety in the early 2010s after being used often in mass shootings in the US, earning them the moniker "ghost guns" because they are nearly imperceptible to law enforcement.

A privately produced firearm, also referred to as a "ghost gun," is one that has been constructed or finished by a person other than a licensed manufacturer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Handguns, revolvers, Colts, shotguns, machine guns, and more can all be considered ghost weapons.

According to reports, US authorities collected over 45,000 suspected ghost weapons from crime scenes between 2016 and 2021, 692 of which were found at murder or attempted murder scenes.

According to the US Department of Justice, the number of ghost weapons recovered has increased annually, from 1,758 in 2016 to 19,344 in 2021.

How are ghost guns made?

The rise of ghost weapons, particularly in the US, has been greatly aided by advanced technologies; at the moment, millions of people watch countless online videos that demonstrate how to assemble ghost weapons, and vendors offer 3D printing files for buyers to print and assemble the weapons themselves.

Although US officials estimate the typical cost at about $500, ghost weapons may be created from a kit or with a 3D printer for less than $200.

Only 0.98% of suspected ghost weapons have been traced, according to the US Department of Justice in 2022, and ghost weapons cannot be tracked down since they lack serial numbers.