Whether assembled from kits or created out of plastic by 3D printers, “ghost guns” are cheap, easy to get, and used repeatedly in multiple crimes in New Jersey, investigators and agents told lawmakers at a State House hearing on Tuesday.
“Ghost guns were associated with violent crimes such as shootings, armed robberies, and incidents of domestic violence and road rage,” said Gerald Nachurski, special investigator with the State Commission of Investigation, which held the hearing.
He joined a panel of experts who told the commission about an alarming trend: police went from recovering one “ghost gun” a week in 2019 to one per day last year. The guns lack serial numbers but can be traced by their bullet casings, and detectives discovered individual weapons were often used in multiple crimes in a single neighborhood. Investigators identified just 21 such guns that were used in 159 shootings all across New Jersey.
With 3D printing technology growing more sophisticated, computer codes to produce “ghost guns” are easy to download, they said. One undercover witness said in recorded testimony: “Any idiot can put together the Polymer80s … With this plastic gun, it’s like putting together Ikea furniture. It comes with a blueprint. It comes with a little jig to do it. And you know what? You don’t have to be mechanically inclined to do it. You drill a couple holes, cut the plastic, and within a couple hours, somebody has a gun.”
The internet also offers black-market “switches,” small plastic pieces that when inserted into a regular firearm, transforms it into an automatic weapon. They are also often accompanied by plastic extended magazines.
“The more bullets fired in an incident, the more likely that gunfire kills someone, hits bystanders, or causes additional damage,” said Joshua King, a SCI investigative analyst.
“Switches were available for sale on popular video sharing websites and China-based commerce websites,” added Philip Massa, a SCI investigator. “Both options appeared to ship directly to any requested address.”
Experts testified the technology is outstripping existing law, and New Jersey needs further regulatory reforms and stronger statute. The SCI said it will issue recommendations in a few months.
“The influx of tens of thousands of illegal weapons poses an obvious danger to the safety, stability and security of our communities,” said Tiffany Williams Brewer, the SCI’s chair. “What’s less obvious is how much havoc even one or two of these guns can wreak in a community.”
