That’s all A decade after 3D-printed guns emerged as symbols of libertarianism and gun control nightmares, police are now saying that one of these handmade plastic weapons is in the hands of perhaps the world’s most high-profile murder suspect. announced that it had been discovered in transit. For the community of do-it-yourself gunsmiths who have spent years honing printable firearms models, the fact is that the gun police used to kill Luigi Mangione, the man who shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was responsible for the now-famous shooting. He claims to be as famous as the alleged perpetrator himself, and shows how that is proven. These weapons became practical and deadly.
After the 26-year-old Mangione was arrested on Monday, and in the 24 hours since police released a photo of what they said was Mangione’s gun, an online community dedicated to 3D printed firearms has released an image of the suspect’s gun. The murder weapon was quickly identified as a specific printable model. A self-made weapon with no serial number, the Ghost Gun, is made from a combination of commercially available parts and DIY parts. The gun appears to be the Chairman Wong V1 and is a tweaked version of the popular partially 3D printed Glock design known as the FMDA 19.2. FMDA 19.2 is an acronym for the libertarian slogan “Free Men Don’t Ask.”
Released in 2021, the FMDA 19.2 is a relatively old model by 3D printed gun standards, said the gunsmith, who goes by his first name John and his online handle Snow Makes. But he says this is one of the most well-known and well-tested printable ghost gun designs. The Chairman Wong V1 remix that police said was in Mr. Mangione’s possession when he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, differs from the original FMDA 19.2 design because it was created by another man working under the pseudonym Chairman Wong. It’s just that the amateur gunsmith added a different texture to the gun. grip.
“This is a bit of an odd choice for someone who has been building firearms like this for five years. We’ve been building better models,” said Snow Makes, who organizes the Ghost Gun Shooting Contest every year. I say. But he added, “This is one of the first 3D printed Glock styles that has been extensively tested and successfully created a reliably functioning firearm.”
New York authorities on Monday charged Mangione with the Dec. 4 murder of Thompson, along with weapons charges and other criminal charges in Pennsylvania. A handwritten “manifesto” police found when Mangione was arrested deplored United Healthcare’s practices and the U.S. health insurance industry broadly. Shell casings found at the scene of a shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in Manhattan were engraved with the words “denial,” “defense,” and “expulsion,” in what appears to be a criticism of medical industry practices. It has been reported.
The fact that even a relatively old model of a 3D-printed gun allegedly enabled Mangione to repeatedly shoot Thompson on the streets of Manhattan is the most high-profile attempt ever made with a ghost gun or 3D-printed gun. The shooting definitely shows how popular DIY weapons have become. Technology is here, says Cody Wilson, founder of the gun rights group Defense Distributed. Unlike earlier 3D printed gun models, FDMA 19.2 can be fired hundreds or even thousands of times without the plastic parts breaking.