Manhattan DA sends warning to ghost gun makers in wake of Supreme Court ruling
One day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld federal restrictions on ghost guns, prosecutors in New York are warning 3D-printing companies their "insufficient security measures" are causing a "troubling rise in access to unregulated weaponry."
The warning came in a letter Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent Thursday to Creality 3D Technology Co. and other 3D-printing companies that asks them to make fixes to stop the proliferation of ghost guns on city streets. The letter makes specific reference to Luigi Mangione allegedly using a 3D-printed ghost gun and silencer to murder United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
Bragg said he sent the letter because of "a growing and concerning number" of ghost guns being manufactured by personal desktop 3D printers based on downloadable gun part designs and detailed assembly guides found on the "Creality Cloud."
The district attorney said many of the guns are being assembled by felons and minors who have ready access to online instructions.
"It is paramount that you work to remove weaponry from your company's cloud services and explicitly ban the creation of illicit weapons in your company's user agreement," the letter from Bragg said. "It is imperative that you take swift action to protect your customers and the communities they live in from violence and criminal activity by adopting commonsense security measures to deter the spread of illicit firearms both locally and across the United States."
In New York City, the NYPD reported a significant increase in ghost guns seized on the streets from 2020 to 2025. In 2018, 17 ghost guns were seized. In 2024, the number was 438. Many of those were made with Creality printers, Bragg said.
"For instance, in 2023, our investigation found that an individual who was 3D-printing assault weapons and manufacturing illegal drugs utilized a Creality printer to print multiple firearms. In another instance, in 2023, an individual who threatened to kill his girlfriend was found to be manufacturing an arsenal of weapons in his apartment using a Creality printer. Additionally, recent research has found that the vast majority of illegal 3D printed guns were created using Creality printers, specifically the Ender 3 series model," the letter said.
Creality did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
"I am concerned about the troubling rise in access to unregulated weaponry, especially among individuals convicted of felonies and minors, because of insufficient security measures connected with your products and business policy decisions," Bragg said.
The letter did not threaten prosecution but requested a meeting with the company.
