The sudden proliferation of these cheap, mail-order ghost guns has prompted alarm among law enforcement nationwide. He killed his wife and four others before killing himself.The most common and controversial ghost guns cost a few hundred dollars online and come “80 percent” finished in a box with all the necessary tools. Investigators said the shooter, Kevin Neal, manufactured an unregistered rifle to target an elementary school and randomly shot at homes and motorists in a rural subdivision about 130 miles (209 kilometers) north of Sacramento. A student, 16-year-old Nathan Berhow, opened fire with an unregistered gun, killing two other students and wounding three before shooting himself.Īlso last year, the families of those killed and wounded in a 2017 shooting rampage in rural California sued manufacturers and sellers of ghost gun kits. The anti-gun violence organization also filed a lawsuit last year against another gun parts seller on behalf of a teenaged girl who survived a 2019 shooting at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita. In February, it joined the city of Los Angeles in suing Polymer80 for allegedly creating a public nuisance and violating the state's business code. The lawsuit was filed by Everytown Law, which has sued several other ghost gun parts providers. However, on its website, the company said some of its do-it-yourself kits, including the PF940C, were classified by the ATF “as not falling within the federal definition of ‘firearm.’” The ATF last December served a search warrant on Polymer80 as it investigated whether the company evaded gun laws by making and selling the kits. The suit alleges the company violated both federal and California gun laws.Įmails seeking comment from the company weren’t immediately returned. “Defendants knew and could foresee – but consciously disregarded the risk – that they were creating and contributing to a direct and secondary market for illegal, unserialized and untraceable guns, knowing that their firearms were likely to end up in the hands of criminals and were likely to be used for criminal purposes," the suit contended. The lawsuit contends that Dayton, Nevada-based Polymer80, which holds a federal firearms license, “purposefully sold their products without markings to make it difficult for law enforcement to trace the firearm." Murray was forbidden to buy or possess a gun because of previous convictions for sales and possession of narcotics, firearm possession, receiving stolen property, burglary and terrorist threats, authorities said. The kit provided most of the parts for a handgun and was compatible with Glock components, according to Polymer80's website. That weapon was built from a Polymer80 kit, model PF940c, according to the lawsuit. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News on Thursday, April 8, 2021. Investigators said a gun Murray threw from a car window while he was being pursued matched the one used to shoot the deputies.Ī father who lost his daughter in a school shooting where the teenaged killer used a ghost gun reacts to President Joe Biden's executive action to confront gun violence. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges and could face life in state prison if convicted. Neither has been able to return to work, according to the lawsuit.ĭeonte Lee Murray was arrested three days later after a nine-hour standoff with police in nearby Lynwood. Apolinar and Perez-Perez were shot in the head and arms.
The attacker fired through the car's passenger window. 12 as they sat in their patrol car at a Metro rail station in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of deputies Claudia Apolinar and Emmanuel Perez-Perez, who were shot and wounded Sept. Federal officials say thousands have been seized in connection with crime investigations. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore has said the guns now account for a third of all weapons recovered by the LAPD.
Law enforcement agencies say the weapons are increasingly turning up at crime scenes. President Trump Calls Deputies To Wish Them A Speedy Recovery After Compton Shooting