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Mangione’s ghost gun: Are 3D printed weapons turning America into the Wild West?

USA Today
Summary
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62% Informative

Suspected killer Luigi Mangione's gun and silencer were made using a 3D printer and readily available metal parts, police say.

The weapons, just a novelty a decade ago , have become an untraceable menace in the crime world.

Arrests related to 3D-printed guns have tripled in recent years ; federal officials recovered more than 25,000 homemade guns in 2022 alone.

As the quality of 3D printers rise as prices fall, the trend shows no signs of stopping.

Gun rights advocates have defended the 3D printing practice as the latest iteration of an American tradition of making firearms at home.

Printing a gun in 2024 is a far cry from what it was years ago when the machines could cost thousands of dollars and the legality of making a gun was unclear.

Some states have bans in place but halting the practice is difficult because people can legally buy the printers and materials to create a gun.

Contributing: Minnah Arshad , USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY : Mangione’s ghost gun: Are 3D printed weapons turning America into the Wild West ?.

VR Score

58

Informative language

53

Neutral language

44

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

48

Offensive language

likely offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

34

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