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A Surge of Untraceable Guns in Onondaga County Uncovering the Mystery of Ghost Guns

What is a ghost gun?

By Alexander Peebles

Alex Peebles:
THAT IS THE SOUND OF A LEGALLY OWNED GLOCK 40 HANDGUN. THIS FIREARM WAS PURCHASED THROUGH A LICENSED DEALER AND THE OWNER HAS A NEW YORK STATE PISTOL PERMIT.

Nick Ursini:
THE SOUND OF A REGULATED HANDGUN FROM A MANUFACTURER CAN BE CONFUSED WITH THE SOUND OF A GHOST GUN.

Kevin Dix:
Normally when you’re talking about a ghost gun, it is not a gun that when you immediately purchase it you can just put ammunition in it and fire it.

Ursini:
WHAT YOU ARE BUYING IS BASICALLY A BUILD YOUR OWN GUN KIT. AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE THESE GHOST GUNS ARE JUST 80% RECEIVERS AND COME WITH ALL OF THE PARTS NEEDED TO COMPLETELY BUILD THE ACTUAL FIREARM.

Peebles:
This is the receiver of a glock 40 pistol. The only difference that youll see between this and a ghost gun are these holes right here, these holes are drilled by the manufacturers. Ghost Guns are 80 percent machined, meaning that you have to finish the rest of the gun. Also you’ll notice that there are no serial numbers on the 80 percent machined guns or ghost guns like there is on this one right here.

Dix:
By the law, federal and state law. The only part of the gun that is actually the gun is the serialized number receiver of the gun.

Peebles:
BECAUSE THEY COME AS ONLY 80 PERCENT MACHINED RECEIVERS GHOST GUNS ARE NOT CONSIDERED FIREARMS AND TURNING THESE PARTIALLY MANUFACTURED GHOST GUNS INTO WORKING FIREARMS IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS YOU MIGHT THINK.

Dix:
Normally when you get these 80 percent parts they come with an instruction sheet from the manufacturer

Ursini:
And WITH A SIMPLE ONLINE SEARCH YOU WILL FIND STEP BY STEP VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS TO PUT TOGETHER KITS.
AND BECAUSE THERE ARE NO SERIAL NUMBERS THESE GHOST GUNS ARE UNTRACEABLE, MAKING SOLVING CRIMES INVOLVING GHOST GUNS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE.

Peebles:
ALEX PEEBLES

Ursini:
NICK URSINI. NCC KNOWS AND NOW YOU DO TO.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Purchasing a handgun is a selective process as regulations have been put in place to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Obtaining a handgun legally in New York involves going through a series of steps:

But through the purchase of ghost guns online, people have found a way to go around this process entirely. But what is a ghost gun?

“Normally when you’re talking about a ghost gun it is not a gun that when you immediately purchase it you can just put ammunition in and fire it,” said Kevin Dix, firearms expert and former deputy sheriff with the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department.

A ghost gun is merely a build your own gun kit with the pieces and instructions needed to create a functioning gun. There are also video tutorials all over the web that go through the step-by-step process of putting the pieces of the ghost gun together. Because ghost guns come in pieces and are not fully manufactured, they are not legally considered firearms. Considering that they are not firearms, no permit, background check or safety class are required to purchase a ghost gun online.

“By the law, federal and state law, the only part of the gun that is actually the gun is the serialized receiver of the gun,” Dix said.

The receiver is the bottom part of a gun that houses all of the key parts that make the gun operational, like the trigger mechanism. Because ghost guns are not technically firearms, they are not regulated, meaning there are no serial numbers on them. Without serial numbers ghost guns are untraceable, making any crime committed with a ghost gun near impossible to solve.

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