SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is said to have used a ghost gun during the alleged crime.
Ghost guns are firearms assembled from parts often sold in kits online or at gun shows.
"A ghost gun is a homemade gun, it's either sold in a kit that looks like a disassembled gun that can be easily assembled with a couple of screws and functions like a gun, or it can be manufactured or made with a 3D printer," said Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell.
Many ghost guns lack serial numbers making them impossible to trace.
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"So you can take basically the legal parts to manufacture your own gun and the problem with them is that they're not traceable for law enforcement so they've been problematic in our field for many, many years," said Powell.
With no background check required to purchase the kits, they are increasingly popular among criminals.
"They're not regulated and they're used not by law-abiding gun owners for the most part, but by criminals trying to evade criminal prosecution," stated Powell.
Ghost guns are not defined as firearms, therefore most firearm laws don't apply to them.
"The legislators are trying to catch up but that met with a lot of resistance often with 2nd amendment rights and trying to pass effective laws to regulate background checks, serial numbers, common sense gun laws to aid law enforcement," explained Powell.
In Pennsylvania, the legal system cracked down on making ghost firearms more traceable, but it's still not completely illegal to have one.
