What you should know about ghost guns

The man suspected of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was carrying a “ghost gun” — a type of untraceable, homemade firearm — when he was apprehended Monday, police said.

The man suspected of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was carrying a “ghost gun” — a type of untraceable, homemade firearm — when he was apprehended Monday, police said. Luigi Mangione had the gun when he was searched by local police at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Monday, five days after the 26-year-old allegedly gunned down the executive outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel. The weapon was capable of firing a 9 mm round and “may have been made on a 3D printer,” Kenny said — a claim echoed by a criminal complaint filed in Pennsylvania, where police said they found a “black 3D-printed pistol” in Mangione’s backpack. Investigators also recovered a suppressor, which muffles the sound of gunfire, authorities have said. Mangione’s arrest has once again highlighted the issue of ghost guns, which have made numerous headlines in recent years as tens of thousands have reportedly been recovered from the scenes of violent crimes across the country. Here’s what you should know. There are two main attributes to ghost guns, often referred to by officials as “privately made firearms,” or PMFs. First, ghost guns don’t have serial numbers, making them effectively untraceable and hindering law enforcement’s ability to track the history of a weapon when recovered at a crime scene. Second, they don’t require a background check, allowing buyers to sidestep the typical requirements they might face when purchasing a firearm.