The weapon of choice for a growing number of criminals has no serial number, can’t be traced to a manufacturer, and doesn’t require a background check for purchase. It is sold at gun shows and over the internet — not as a functioning gun, but in a kit of disassembled parts. Buyers use their own tools, including electric drills and sandpaper, to build a handgun or assault rifle.

It’s called a ghost gun, and such weapons have been seized by Philadelphia police 10 times this year already.

The situation is of growing concern to public officials, including Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who point to mayhem from street crimes to mass shootings committed with the weapons.

“Now we face an emerging threat in communities across Pennsylvania, the threat of ghost guns,” Shapiro said in December when he and Wolf announced a policy that classified the largest component of ghost guns, the unfinished frames, as firearms. The policy also calls for background checks for buyers.

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https://www.inquirer.com/news/ghost-guns-philadelphia-violence-tom-wolf-josh-shapiro-sekou-kinebrew-mark-oliva-20200312.html