Dark rise of ghost guns after Luigi Mangione ‘hit’ as DIY weapons that can be knocked up in garden sheds flood UK cities
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A HITMAN on the streets of New York using a 'ghost gun' to assassinate a businessman in cold blood might sound like something out of a movie. But in the wake of Luigi Mangione's alleged hit on a healthcare CEO last week, fears are growing over the surging popularity of the chilling weapons, which are increasingly being found in Britain too.
![[Luigi Mangione allegedly shooting CEO Brian Thompson with a 'ghost gun']](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/starbucks-trip-hitman-style-execution-954986513.png?strip=all&w=441)
Over the past decade, ghost guns - home-made firearms constructed using 3D printers that can be knocked up in bedrooms and garden sheds - have become the scourge of American law enforcement. The US Department of Justice disturbingly found there has been a 1,000 per cent rise in such guns being found at crime scenes over the past eight years.
![[Luigi has been nicknamed the 'hot assassin']](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/police-reportedly-taken-suspect-custody-956080830_2982eb.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
And increasingly, a growing number of Brits are being locked up after being found with the weapons too, with experts warning that key components can be bought "freely and cheaply" . Disturbingly, many of these criminals have the most sinister of backgrounds, with recent examples including a man found posting on a 'domestic terrorism' message board, a Neo-Nazi and two crooks planning to sell their weapons en masse to criminal gangs.
![[The 3D-printed firearms are troubling US law enforcement but are also on the rise in the UK]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2019-file-photo-shows-ghost-650061331.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
As laws around ghost guns struggle to keep up with their rapid rise in popularity, there is a huge online community of enthusiasts freely sharing videos on how to build them and offering tips on how to evade detection. These guides are not just on the dark web but on mainstream sites such as YouTube.
![[Owain Roberts from Wales was jailed for attempting to build a 3D gun]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/owain-roberts-teenager-newport-bought-949146759.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
