U.S. law enforcement have said the weapon found in the backpack of Luigi Mangione, who is charged in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may have been a 3D-printed pistol — a type of nearly untraceable weapon that can be made at home.
This type of weapon is often known as a “ghost gun” and police on both sides of the border say they’re becoming a growing threat in communities.
According to the Canadian government, a “ghost gun” is a term used to describe a privately-manufactured firearm (PMF) with anonymous origins — and therefore untraceable.
In parliamentary committee notes prepared by Public Safety Canada in 2023, department officials said “ghost guns” are unmarked, often illegally manufactured or assembled from parts, and either don’t have serial numbers or other markings or such identification has been “obliterated.”
“That is why, elusive as they are and not known to law enforcement or the regulatory bodies that review firearm manufacturing, they become a ghost out on the street,” Supt. Marc Cochlin, CEO of Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), told Global News.
“And that in itself is an attractive commodity for the criminal element out there.”
ALERT was part of a multi-provincial task force last year led by Quebec provincial police that conducted simultaneous raids across eight provinces targeting manufacturers of 3D-printed or “ghost guns.”
It led to the arrest of 45 people and seizure of 440 weapons, including some “ghost guns.”
Some of those arrested had links to organized crime networks, police said.
These weapons can be made through parts a person can assemble together, in some cases even with do-it-yourself kits or printed at home using a 3D printer.
According to the parliamentary committee notes, privately-manufactured firearms and gun receivers — often considered by police as a critical part to building a ghost gun — can be assembled into “fully functional firearms” using commercially manufactured, but unregulated, parts like barrels and handgun slides.
Hank Idsinga, a retired Toronto Police Service inspector and crime commentator for Global News, said 3D printing has created a difficult situation for police.
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“The problem started to become an issue when the 3D printing came into play and people could 3D print that receiver portion of the firearm and then obtain the other components without a licence and then assemble it and have a fully-functional firearm,” he said.
Though receivers have been the primary items seized, Cochlin said the market is evolving.
“I think the imagination is the limit to what you could probably produce in a 3D-printed environment,” he said.
According to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC) in British Columbia, legal 3D printers can be used to craft up to 80 per cent of a working firearm with easy to access online data files.
The remaining 20 per cent can then be completed with parts such as barrels and triggers that can be purchased legally — though a change to the Criminal Code brought by former Bill C-21 now makes it a requirement to have a valid firearms licence to acquire firearm barrels and handgun slides.
Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy added that need for legitimate parts like barrels can sometimes be what alerts law enforcement, and it’s what has prompted criminal entities to find other methods to avoid detection.
“It’s inevitable that those that are using them illegally will try to find another way to do that, to evade being investigated or arrested or subject of a prosecution,” said Fordy, who was also co-chair with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police’s special purpose committee on firearms.
Cochlin added that ALERT has seen not only single-shot weapons that look like “a toy in various colours,” but assault rifles with extended magazines made in 3D-printed environments.
In the case of Mangione, police have said a silencer used with the pistol he allegedly possessed was also 3D-printed.
What laws are in place to reduce ‘ghost guns?’
It is legal in the U.S. to build a firearm for personal use and “ghost gun” kits were available online without background checks or age verification until about two years ago.
After these weapons were found at more crime scenes, the Biden administration moved to add age requirements and background checks for buyers. It’s been challenged and taken to the Supreme Court, though the court signalled they’ll likely uphold the regulation when they hand down a ruling.
Under Bill C-21 in Canada, which received royal assent one year ago, any “unlawfully manufactured firearm” such as a “ghost gun” is now defined as a prohibited firearm making it illegal to not only possess, but to manufacture such a weapon without the appropriate licence issued.
But in addition to making such a weapon, possessing or accessing computer data that could be used with a 3D printer, metal milling machine or other computer system in order to manufacture or traffick a firearm or prohibited device is also against the law in Canada.
That means even pressing download on a file that would enable you to use a 3D printer to build a firearm, such as a gun receiver, is illegal.
“If the legislation prevents even one gun from being created and put into the hands of somebody that shouldn’t have it in their hands, then it’s part of the solution,” Idsinga said.
In a statement to Global News, Gabriel Burnet, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said the measures in the bill enable law enforcement and government to “better combat ghost guns.”
He added the RCMP is working with Public Safety Canada, Statistics Canada, policing and provincial and territorial partners to enhance national-level data collection related to firearms crimes, including those involving PMFs.
There are still challenges to be worked out, officials note, such as if it’s only a privately-made receiver mixed with legal parts or if other types of weapons could be considered a “ghost gun.”
But law enforcement officials also say while possession and distribution of computer files is now illegal in Canada, they can be obtained or trafficked from other countries.
In the U.S., there is federal legislation presented to make it illegal to publish instructions on 3D-printing a firearm, however it has not been passed by Congress.
According to Fordy, law enforcement continues to work across borders to tackle what’s become a “transnational crime,” and is looking at various tools to tackle what’s becoming an evolving issue.
“There will inevitably be findings in court that will help inform our path forward,” he said. “We will follow the evidence and we will try to be professionally aggressive in trying to advance society’s need to stay safe and our efforts to keep them safe.”
