Luigi Mangione's ghost gun

Luigi Mangione, the prime suspect in the assassionation of Brian Thompson, was arrested with the weapon law enforcement officials believed was the murder weapon.^[1]

Law enforcement officials soon identified that weapon as a ghost gun.^[2] Ghost guns, assembled from parts made on 3d printers, do not have serial numbers, making them untraceable.^[3] And, since anyone with access to a 3d printer can make the parts, those assembling one, or buying one pre-assembled, don't have to undergo a background check, to see if they have a criminal record, or a history of mental instability.^[4]

WIRED magazine quickly identified its design as a variant of the FMDA 19.2. modeled after the Glock 19.^[5] The acronym FMDA is short for "Free Men Don't Ask". The design for the FMDA 19.2 was made public in 2021. Mangione's weapon was printed with a slight modification to that original design, giving its grip a different texture.

Like the Glock 19 it is modeled after, FMDA 19.2 pistols accept a fifteen round glock magazine, holding 9mm bullets.

Tom Chittum, a former associate deputy director of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, told The New York Times, "If the gun used in the New York assassination really was 3D-printed, it would certainly be the highest-profile crime ever committed with one, and it would be one of a small number overall."^[6]

In May 2025 Wired magazine author AD Greenberg chronicled the process of constructing a duplicate of the gun and suppressor authorities claim Mangione possessed.^[7]

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References[edit]

↑ Corey Kilgannon; Mike Baker; Luke Broadwater; Shawn Hubler (2024-12-10). "Luigi Mangione, Suspect in CEO Killing, Withdrew From a Life of Privilege and Promise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2024-12-10. With his credentials and connections, he could have ended up one day as an entrepreneur or the chief executive of one of his family’s thriving businesses. Instead, investigators suspect, he took a different path.
↑ Corey Kilgannon (2024-12-11). "Ghost Gun Taken From Luigi Mangione Was Fully Homemade, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-11. The police officers in Pennsylvania who on Monday arrested the man who has now been charged in the killing, Luigi Mangione, 26, said that he was found with a black pistol and a suppressor, often called a silencer. Both, the authorities said, had been fabricated with a 3-D printer, a device that sculpts a physical object from a digital model.
↑ Dakin Andone (2024-12-10). "What you should know about ghost guns". CNN. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-12. The weapon was capable of firing a 9 mm round and 'may have been made on a 3D printer,' Kenny said — a claim echoed by a criminal complaint filed in Pennsylvania, where police said they found a 'black 3D-printed pistol' in Mangione’s backpack. Investigators also recovered a suppressor, which muffles the sound of gunfire, authorities have said.
↑ James FitzGerald (2024-12-10). "What is a ghost gun, the weapon allegedly used in New York CEO shooting?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-12. The arrest warrant described it as a "semi-automatic pistol with what appears to be a 3D-printed loaded receiver with a metal slide and silencer".
↑ Andy Greenberg (2024-12-11). "The 'Ghost Gun' Linked to Luigi Mangione Shows Just How Far 3D-Printed Weapons Have Come". WIRED magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-11. The FMDA 19.2, released in 2021, is a relatively old model by 3D-printed gun standards, says one gunsmith who goes by the first name John and the online handle Mr. Snow Makes. But it’s one of the most well-known and well-tested printable ghost gun designs, he says. The Chairmanwon V1 remix that police say Mangione had in his possession when he was arrested in a Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald’s varies from that original FMDA 19.2 design only in that another amateur gunsmith, who goes by the pseudonym Chairmanwon, added a different texture to the gun’s grip.
↑ Frank Landymore (2024-12-11). "Cops Say CEO Shooter's Pistol and Silencer Were Both 3D-Printed". Futurism. Archived from the original on 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12. 'If the gun used in the New York assassination really was 3D-printed, it would certainly be the highest-profile crime ever committed with one, and it would be one of a small number overall,' Tom Chittum, a former associate deputy director of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, told the NYT.
↑ AD Greenberg (2025-05-19). 3D-Printed Luigi Mangione’s ‘Ghost Gun’. Wired magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-23 – via YouTube.
↑ Sunny Sone (2024-12-12). "Bulletin: How the Supreme Court's Bruen Ruling Has Resonated in Federal Courts". The Trace. Archived from the original on 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-02-15. Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was found with a partially 3D-printed ghost gun at the time of his arrest, per police — allegedly the same firearm used in the fatal shooting. Arrests linked to 3D-printed guns have tripled in recent years. Our 2021 explainer breaks down what you need to know about these weapons.
↑ Ben Guarino (2024-12-13). "Luigi Mangione's Alleged Ghost Gun and Other Antisurveillance Tech, Explained". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 2024-12-31. Retrieved 2025-02-15. The New York City Police Department’s commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Wednesday that the gun in Mangione’s possession matched three bullet casings that were recovered from the crime scene. Officials have not publicly said whether they believe Mangione built the gun.
↑ Elizabeth Worthington (2024-12-10). "A closer look at 3D printed guns, the weapon police believe Luigi Mangione used in CEO shooting". WMAR 2 News Baltimore. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2024-12-12. They're called ghost guns because they are untraceable; there's no serial number. Other than that, there's not much of a difference between a 3D printed gun and a regular one.

[nytimes2024-12-10-1] Corey Kilgannon; Mike Baker; Luke Broadwater; Shawn Hubler (2024-12-10). "Luigi Mangione, Suspect in CEO Killing, Withdrew From a Life of Privilege and Promise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2024-12-10. With his credentials and connections, he could have ended up one day as an entrepreneur or the chief executive of one of his family’s thriving businesses. Instead, investigators suspect, he took a different path.

[nytimes2024-12-11-2] Corey Kilgannon (2024-12-11). "Ghost Gun Taken From Luigi Mangione Was Fully Homemade, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-11. The police officers in Pennsylvania who on Monday arrested the man who has now been charged in the killing, Luigi Mangione, 26, said that he was found with a black pistol and a suppressor, often called a silencer. Both, the authorities said, had been fabricated with a 3-D printer, a device that sculpts a physical object from a digital model.

[Cnn2024-12-10-3] Dakin Andone (2024-12-10). "What you should know about ghost guns". CNN. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-12. The weapon was capable of firing a 9 mm round and 'may have been made on a 3D printer,' Kenny said — a claim echoed by a criminal complaint filed in Pennsylvania, where police said they found a 'black 3D-printed pistol' in Mangione’s backpack. Investigators also recovered a suppressor, which muffles the sound of gunfire, authorities have said.

[Bbc2024-12-10-4] James FitzGerald (2024-12-10). "What is a ghost gun, the weapon allegedly used in New York CEO shooting?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-12. The arrest warrant described it as a "semi-automatic pistol with what appears to be a 3D-printed loaded receiver with a metal slide and silencer".

[Wired2024-12-11-5] Andy Greenberg (2024-12-11). "The 'Ghost Gun' Linked to Luigi Mangione Shows Just How Far 3D-Printed Weapons Have Come". WIRED magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-11. The FMDA 19.2, released in 2021, is a relatively old model by 3D-printed gun standards, says one gunsmith who goes by the first name John and the online handle Mr. Snow Makes. But it’s one of the most well-known and well-tested printable ghost gun designs, he says. The Chairmanwon V1 remix that police say Mangione had in his possession when he was arrested in a Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald’s varies from that original FMDA 19.2 design only in that another amateur gunsmith, who goes by the pseudonym Chairmanwon, added a different texture to the gun’s grip.

[futurism2024-12-11-6] Frank Landymore (2024-12-11). "Cops Say CEO Shooter's Pistol and Silencer Were Both 3D-Printed". Futurism. Archived from the original on 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12. 'If the gun used in the New York assassination really was 3D-printed, it would certainly be the highest-profile crime ever committed with one, and it would be one of a small number overall,' Tom Chittum, a former associate deputy director of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, told the NYT.

[Wired2025-05-19-7] AD Greenberg (2025-05-19). 3D-Printed Luigi Mangione’s ‘Ghost Gun’. Wired magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-23 – via YouTube.

[TheTrace2024-12-12-8] Sunny Sone (2024-12-12). "Bulletin: How the Supreme Court's Bruen Ruling Has Resonated in Federal Courts". The Trace. Archived from the original on 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-02-15. Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was found with a partially 3D-printed ghost gun at the time of his arrest, per police — allegedly the same firearm used in the fatal shooting. Arrests linked to 3D-printed guns have tripled in recent years. Our 2021 explainer breaks down what you need to know about these weapons.

[scientificamerican2024-12-13-9] Ben Guarino (2024-12-13). "Luigi Mangione's Alleged Ghost Gun and Other Antisurveillance Tech, Explained". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 2024-12-31. Retrieved 2025-02-15. The New York City Police Department’s commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Wednesday that the gun in Mangione’s possession matched three bullet casings that were recovered from the crime scene. Officials have not publicly said whether they believe Mangione built the gun.

[wmar2news2024-12-10-10] Elizabeth Worthington (2024-12-10). "A closer look at 3D printed guns, the weapon police believe Luigi Mangione used in CEO shooting". WMAR 2 News Baltimore. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2024-12-12. They're called ghost guns because they are untraceable; there's no serial number. Other than that, there's not much of a difference between a 3D printed gun and a regular one.

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