Firearms expert reveals dark secrets about Luigi Mangione’s 3D printed ‘ghost gun’
The man accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was arrested with what officials described as a 3D-printed “ghost gun” fitted with a suppressor.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was taken into custody Monday at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania after a six-day manhunt for Brian Thompson’s shooter.
An evidence photo of the gun shows what appears to be a 3D-printed Glock 19 Gen3 9mm frame made of glass-nylon fibers, according to a gun expert online who goes by the name Print Shoot Repeat.
But while people can print ready-made weapons using expensive 3D printing machines, officials have suggested that Mangione’s weapon was likely assembled at home from individual parts purchased online.
These so-called ‘ghost guns’ can be obtained without a background check and have no serial numbers, making them an ideal weapon for criminals.
The firearm in question, described as 3D printed, was likely a hybrid design that combined the homemade frame with traditional metal components such as springs and tubes. Print Repeat recording‘s claims about the gun suggested.
The gun found on Mangione would mark the first known homicide in the US involving a 3D printed firearm if the weapon was used in the killing.
Joe Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, said in a statement: “He was in possession of a ghost gun capable of firing a 9mm round.”
Kenny also said the gun, which is “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” may have been made with a 3D printer.
Luigi Mangione was arrested on Monday with a 3D-printed ‘ghost gun’ in his possession, a firearm assembled at home from parts purchased online
The gun found on Mangione would be the first known homicide in the U.S. involving a 3D printed firearm if the weapon was used in the killing.
People looking for a ghost gun can buy parts individually or search dozens of websites that sell complete kits for as little as $100.
Americans in 40 states can easily purchase a kit from a dealer, without the need for identification.
NBC News has one segment in 2022 in which a reporter conveniently buys a kit from a dealer who just took the money and told him it would “take 24 minutes to put together.”
They usually don’t come with instructions, forcing people to look up videos on how to put them together
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Monday: “I have no tolerance, and neither should anyone, when a man uses an illegal ghost gun to kill someone because he thinks his opinion matters most.”
Although Pennsylvania law does not specifically mention the term “ghost gun,” possessing one may violate laws against gun manufacturing, possessing a firearm with an altered serial number, or obliterating identifying marks.
DIY kits first hit the market in the 1990s, but have become extremely popular recently.
Officials said it received approximately 45,000 reports of suspected privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations between January 2016 and December 2021 – including 692 murders or attempted murders.
“I can confirm it is a 3D printed gun,” said Print Shoot Repeat, who is in charge YouTube channel PSRsaid. ‘What are the chances that it was a 3D printed suppressor? Well, I think it’s quite high, to be honest.’
He explained that a suppressor for a 3D printer is “super light” but cannot shift the cycle properly.
A 3D printing weapons expert has confirmed that the potential murder weapon was made from 3D printed parts, but noted that the slide ‘wasn’t 3D printed’
Thompson’s shooter experienced a similar problem during the assassination when he shot and had to recycle the slide to take another photo.
However, another weapons expert with more than 30 years of training told Dailymail.com that most guns with a suppressor will behave this way.
“There are several causes for jamming,” says the expert, who spoke on anonymity.
“Sometimes the ammunition is bad, sometimes the firearm is dirty and not maintained. The ammunition is of poor quality. It doesn’t matter what type of weapon it is.
“Mangione’s suppressor was a big deterrent to the way the gun worked because it takes the pressure off.
“Using a suppressor gets dirty and impairs the functioning of the firearm.”
However, Print Shoot Repeat has found evidence that the suppressor may have been 3D printed.
“One thing about 3D printing suppressors is that they are larger than normal, and they are a little bit thicker. They are light because they are plastic, but they also need to be a little sturdier,” says Print Shoot Repeat.
“From what I saw in the video, it looked like the suppressor was quite sturdy, it had some girth to it. Let’s just say this leads me to believe that this suppressor he used in the shooting could possibly be a 3D printed one.”
Mangione, who was valedictorian of his prep school in Maryland, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, a university spokesman said.
The weapons expert then explains how a 3D printed gun, like the one Mangione allegedly used, would work, using his own 3D printed Gen 3 as an example.
He explained that the weapon was built with rails from a kit, made of “nylon glass, nylon fiber.”
“Now the slide is not 3D printed, I think a lot of people assume that,” the weapons expert continued.
“The slide is a normal Gen 5 slide. We have a threaded barrel and of course this registered, fully legal silencer.”
‘It’s perfectly legal to make your own gun in most states, whether it’s 3D printing, welding flats together or something else, it’s now perfectly legal in most states
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives oversees firearms laws in the US, which it says “do not restrict the technology or processes that can be used to produce firearms.”
Matthew Larosiere, director of Legal Policy Firearms Policy Coalition, said, “Basically the ATF will decide the design of a firearm and they will declare what part of the gun is the receiver.
“This part of the gun is the part where you need a background check if you want to buy it through a dealer.”