A man living near Pattison Lake in Washington State has been arrested for manufacturing ghost guns with his 3D printing equipment. KING 5 Seattle News reports that detectives seized 3D printed guns that were “loaded with live ammo and capable of firing.” Furthermore, 3D printed knives and grenades, described as WWII replicas, were found.
Lacey man arrested, accused of making guns with 3D printer – YouTube
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Prior warnings heeded
Likely aware that his firearms-related business activity has put him on the police radar, the Pattison Lake resident had sought to intimidate authorities into staying away.
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According to local news reports, the suspect published threats concerning police interference earlier this year. “If those antiquated pigs attempt to arrest me, I will paint the ground with them,” warned the man, online. “You should never show up at my place of abode unless you want to leave in a body bag.”
Police arrived with SWAT team backup
Wisely, the police tuned up at the Pattison Lake residence with a SWAT team backup. The report doesn’t mention any ensuing struggle involved in arresting the unnamed suspect. Perhaps the show of strength was enough, or the raid took him by surprise.
We’d guess the latter, as investigators found that the suspect’s home appeared to have been prepared for an assault. The building’s doors and windows had been altered “to potentially work as barricades,” notes KING 5 Seattle.
A little bit of online searching uncovered what we believe is one of the suspect’s posts about 3D printing guns. Beneath a sample output image (reproduced top) and a download link to the 3D printing resources, the following was noted. “Intended to fire 3-inch magnum shells, and not harm the operator, beyond a sore hand from recoil.” Ahead of further fabrication and build advice, it was highlighted that “this is an early beta, and you should cautiously field test, until the design is finalized.”
3D printed guns: a challenge for lawmakers and enforcers
The topic of 3D printed guns is a thorny one, particularly in the U.S., with its constitutionally protected gun access rights. Some levels of amateur gunsmithery seem to be permissible, using 3D printers as one of many tools that can make firearms. However, different states have different laws, and all ‘ghost guns’ aren’t the same.
For example, 3D-printed machine gun conversion kits, being prepared to sell to an undercover FBI agent who claimed to be an al-Qaida operative, got one Oklahoma resident in big trouble recently.
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