The number of ghost guns discovered in New York City has increased by 75 percent compared to the previous year, smashing all previous records and accounting for nearly half of all untraceable firearms collected in the state, according to data analyzed by The Post.
The NYPD has seized 356 phantom weapons thus far, 150 more than at the same point last year. In 2018, the NYPD only seized seventeen ghost weapons.
The untraceable firearms, which typically lack serial numbers and are 3-D printed or sent in parts requiring assembly, have been used in at least two murders this year.
Yanel Henriquez had never heard of a ghost pistol before to April 8, when her 16-year-old daughter Angellyh Yambo was killed in the South Bronx by a stray bullet fired from one.
“I learned about ghost weapons only after my daughter was murdered,” stated Henriquez. “We must be conversant with the factors that murder our children. It’s embarrassing that we didn’t know and just found out when someone was killed. They need to take appropriate action.
“My child was neither a member of a gang, nor was she a horrible girl,” Henriquez remarked. “Our children attend school, and we stroll the streets and go to work, but we have no idea if they will return.”
Jeremiah Ryan, 17, was arrested and charged with murder for reportedly pulling the trigger during an altercation with four others, according to witnesses.
On May 2, less than a month later, David Scott, age 31, was slain by a ghost gun inside a smoke shop in the Bronx.
Edison Cruz, 25, was arrested and charged with murder by the NYPD, which does not track ghost gun-specific homicides. He is accused of murdering Scott and two others.
Cruz, who was arrested for felony gun possession the previous year, was prohibited from legally possessing a firearm due to his criminal record.
In response to the surge of untraceable firearms, the city filed federal lawsuits against five online ghost gun traffickers on June 29. Four of the defendants have reached agreements with the city to cease their “illegal conduct,” according to City Hall spokesperson Jonah Allon.
“Since assuming office, Mayor Adams has taken proactive measures to stem the flow of phantom guns into our city and dam this river fueling the sea of bloodshed,” Allon said, adding that the NYPD has captured more than 6,400 illegal firearms, including ghost guns, this year.
According to the New York State Police, there has been a 40% increase in the number of ghost firearms discovered statewide, with 730 collected so far this year compared to 528 during the same period in 2021. Ghost guns are described as “one of the fastest rising public safety threats.”
New York State Police spokesman Beau Duffy stated, “They are enticing to criminals because they can be manufactured in a matter of hours and are essentially untraceable.”
In October of 2012, Governor Hochul passed a bill making it illegal to sell or own a ghost gun. The law also criminalized the possession of firearm components that could be assembled into an usable weapon.
Duffy stated, “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to prevent the illicit importation of these firearms into New York.”
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