Looking at ghost guns in Colorado after allegation of use in UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing
As investigators build their case against suspect Luigi Mangione for the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police say the gun found in his backpack appeared to be a ghost gun with parts created on a 3D printer.
All across the country, ghost guns remain a worry for law enforcement.
"It does make it difficult for us to track because there is no serial number. The other thing that is a challenge is that they're easily made," Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said.
Anti-violence workers like Lawrence Goshon who works with the Denver Youth Program's, At Risk Intervention and Mentor Program at Denver Health said in recent years there has been a lot of talk among young people about ghost guns.
"I'm in the business of violence prevention. Trying to keep kids off the street, keep them from using guns. Trying to keep them out of jail," said Goshon. "We heard people were able to go to the gun shows, buy all the pieces that they needed for their guns and just put them together. They avoided the whole hassle of trying to actually clear a background check to get a gun."
That was before Colorado passed a law in 2023 making it illegal to manufacture, possess or transport guns without serial numbers. That followed the Biden administration's move to create age requirements and background checks like regular gun purchases in 2022.
"I think a few years ago they were much more prevalent than they are today. We have actually seen a reduction in the recovery of ghost guns," said Thomas.
But there have been notable cases, including the 2023 shooting at East High School in which two deans were shot. The suspect, 17-year-old East High student Austin Lyle, later took his own life in Park County.
"That whole thing was started with a ghost gun that he had made in his bedroom," Thomas said.
Colorado's law has drawn criticism from the National Association for Gun Rights and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, who have challenged the law in court.
"Home building firearms has been something that's been done in our country since the beginning of time," said Rocky Mountain Gun Owners executive director Ian Escalante.
So far their claim has been rejected by a federal district court judge who ruled the law doesn't prevent someone from buying the parts, but the law is within reason to require the frame or receiver to have serial numbers.
"You're turning people into criminals overnight. Now you have people that are saying they want to serialize all parts of a gun again. This is politically expedient. It is the anti-gun lobby because it's a lobby," said Escalante.
Escalante's group is appealing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver.
On the streets, Thomas is glad to see fewer of the ghost guns: "I'm not really a fan of guns at all in the hands of people that shouldn't have them."
