Ghost guns, tips spotlighted after CEO shooting arrest

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- With the murder case of a healthcare CEO in the national spotlight, local law enforcement is highlighting some parts of this case that can have an impact in central Ohio.  

That impact includes ghost guns and the importance of community tips.   

Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested and charged five days after the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson after a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pa., alerted authorities of a possible suspicious person.  

Daryl S. McCormick, the special agent in charge of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Columbus Field division, said privately made firearms – also known as ghost guns -- got that name because it is harder to trace them back to an owner.  

He said that Mangione allegedly possessing ghost guns shows a level of planning. 

“Clearly shows a level of sophistication that's, you know, next level in terms of, you know, a criminal mind,” McCormick said.  

He said that from far away, it’s hard to tell the difference between a legally manufactured gun and a ghost gun; the big difference is ghost guns lack the proper serial numbers and markings.  

“They are no more dangerous than any other firearm,” McCormick said. “Our primary concern is any firearm in the hands of criminals. So the problem or the challenge for law enforcement with the privately made firearms, and they're called ghost guns because they don't have the markings on them that allows them to be traced. So that stops any chance, makes it very difficult for us to find out how the criminal got the firearm.” 

McCormick said markings are normally found on a firearm’s barrel and slide. 

“We still are able to sometimes track how they got, how a criminal gets them, but it's much more challenging,” he said. “We have to do things. Law enforcement techniques, they help us recover the documentation and how they ordered, you know, things like that.” 

McCormick said that a few years ago, the agency saw a major spike in ghost guns because the kits to make them were so simple and accessible and that the passing of the Safer Communities Act in 2022 has slowed the trend. 

“There were regulatory changes that followed that essentially made that where if the kits that were readily convertible made them already essentially regulated like a firearm, so that's changed a lot about the ease of the availability of the parts online,” McCormick said. “And so we've seen a slowdown in them being recovered on the street since then.” 

He said from last year to this year, the ATF has seen a 15% decrease in ghost guns collected in Ohio. The Columbus Division of Police said year to date, it has collected 32 ghost gun; at this time last year, it reported 39. 

Authorities arrested Mangionie following a tip from a McDonald's worker. 

“We need their help because we only have so many sets of eyes,” U.S. Marshal with the Southern District of Ohio Michael Black said. “The public, they're everywhere all the time. They see things when they're out and about, moving around.” 

Black said this case is a prime example of how important help can be and it’s valuable for everyone to pay attention. 

“That could be the difference between us apprehending them and keeping them from committing another violent crime,” he said.  

Black said the marshal’s office takes every tip it receives seriously, no matter how small, and that since the marshal’s service started its Warrant Watch partnership with NBC 4, it has seen an increase in tips.