What is a ghost gun, the weapon allegedly used in the shooting of the New York CEO?

Investigators say the black handgun allegedly recovered from Luigi Mangione, the suspect arrested in connection with the murder of a healthcare executive, appeared to be a ghost gun, a firearm that can be assembled at home.

Authorities said the device could have been made with a 3D printer, but would need to be tested by ballistics experts to confirm this.

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has once again put a spotlight on this controversial gun that advocacy groups have called “the fastest-growing gun safety issue in the country.”

Here’s what you should know about these firearms.

Ghost guns are so called because they are potentially untraceable. They can be assembled at home, either from scratch or using gun parts kits, and are not marked with serial numbers.

The weapon that Mr. Mangione supposedly carried in his backpack appears to be typical. The arrest warrant described it as a “semi-automatic pistol with what appears to be a 3D printed loaded receiver with a metal slide and silencer.”

Police said it was capable of firing 9mm bullets and was consistent with the type of weapon used in the fatal shooting of Mr. Thompson in New York the previous week.

The Biden administration, which champions gun regulation, has previously described ghost guns as “ridiculously easy” to manufacture.

Until August 2023, anyone with Internet access could legally purchase many of the parts needed to make a gun without background checks. Online tutorials explain how to fit the parts into a fully functioning firearm in less than an hour.

Experts have called ghost guns the fastest-growing gun safety problem in the country. They have been increasingly used in high-profile shootings.

According to figures from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in 2022 law enforcement agencies reportedly encountered 20,000 suspected ghost guns in criminal investigations, a tenfold increase from 2016.

Authorities say that without serial numbers on their frames, it is virtually impossible to track dealers who sell these weapons illegally to minors or unlicensed people.

One former government official doubted that Thompson’s murder would change people’s minds. “Ghost guns are a new factor in a very complicated and violent country,” Juliette Kayyem told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The United States was finding it “very difficult” to restrict the use of firearms, said Kayyem, a former deputy secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

More than 48,000 people died from firearms overall in the US in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The killing has renewed scrutiny on ghost guns, which the Biden administration has sought to regulate, saying they should be treated the same as commercially available firearms.

Ghost gun kit manufacturers are now required to include serial numbers on their products and conduct background checks on buyers.

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court expressed its willingness to uphold the law, which has been challenged by gun rights groups saying authorities had exceeded the limits of pre-existing legislation.

A ruling upholding the new ATF regulation would mark a shift for this Supreme Court, which has a conservative supermajority that has been largely skeptical of gun regulations.

Regarding weapons in general, the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, has positioned himself as a firm defender of the Second Amendment, which grants the right to bear arms. Earlier this year, he told the National Rifle Association (NRA) that he was the group’s best friend.