9/11 Museum Guard Charged With Gun Trafficking: Prosecutors

DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A security guard at the 9/11 Museum and an accomplice trafficked multiple guns into New York, including "assault-styled weapons," prosecutors said Friday.

The guard, Maquan Moore, and his accomplice Morris Wilson were arrested on Thursday and indicted on multiple gun charges on Friday, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Geoffrey Berman said.

Moore and Wilson trafficked multiple guns from Florida to New York. Among the lethal weapons were a machine pistol, as well as other handguns and rifles, prosecutors said.

"As alleged, Maquan Moore and Morris Wilson are responsible for illegally introducing into Manhattan scores of illegal firearms – including assault-style weapons capable of inflicting mass casualties – and knowingly doing so in the neighborhood of a nearby school," Berman said in a statement.

The men were caught in a sting operation set up by the NYPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives after undercover officers began buying guns from Moore in December. On Thursday, an undercover officer purchased additional guns from Moore, after which both he and Wilson were arrested.

Moore, 29, faces gun trafficking charges and as well as a possession of a firearm near a school zone charge.

Wilson, 32, also faces gun trafficking charges.

Both men appeared in federal court today. Patch was not immediately able to contact either Moore or Wilson's attorney for comment.

Moore worked for a private security firm that was contracted to work at the 9/11 Museum.

Image credit: Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York