One Company Behind Flood Of 'Ghost Guns' Fueling NYC Violence: NYPD

NEW YORK, NY — New York City is setting its sights on a single company that officials say is behind nearly all of the dangerous, untraceable "ghost guns" flooding into the five boroughs.

Mayor Eric Adams urged the federal government Wednesday to revoke the license of Nevada-based company Polymer80, who officials say made 90 percent of the unmarked firearms confiscated by the NYPD. Nationally, Polymer80 made 86 percent of the 1,475 ghost guns entered into ATF's database in 2019, officials said.

"Polymer80’s entire business operation presents a clear and present danger to public safety through New York and the entire country," Adams said. "As mayor of the largest city in America, a former police officer, and co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, I have a message for Polymer80: We will not surrender our city to a violent few. No one is above the law. And the law is coming for you.”

The mayor's request — in the form of a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — comes as the number of ghost guns surges in New York City and across the country.

The NYPD has recovered 153 of the build-at-home guns so far this year, three times as many as the same period in 2021, officials said Wednesday.

Most recently in New York City, authorities found a massive arsenal in a Brooklyn home of the ghost guns, which they say firearms dealers often build and resell at a huge profit. Ghost guns were also tied to two deadly shootings in the Bronx this year, including one that killed a 16-year-old girl walking home from school, officials said.

Law enforcement have pointed to the handmade ghost guns as a chief obstacle in their fight against gun violence given that they are often untraceable and easier to buy than traditional guns.

Polymer80 in particular was found violating federal firearm laws by not putting serial numbers on its "Buy Build Shoot" its and not running background checks, officials said.

Noticeably tense, Wednesday's press conference on ghost guns came on the heels of another deadly Bronx shooting, where an NYPD officer was shot.

Though not connected to the handmade firearms, officials said the shooting represented another challenge for their fight against crime — much-debated bail reform laws.

Officials, to the chagrin of advocates, have blamed laws that kept Smith — a homeless man with a long criminal record — on the streets even after he was found with a gun in March 2020.

"We can’t stand for these types of dangerous and highly avoidable confrontations for repeat offenders who are given every leeway by the criminal justice system," said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. "We need to right these wrongs."

For his part, the mayor pointed to another apparent hinderance to fighting crime— public criticism of police.

"I feel like I’m in an alternate reality — We’re probably the only civilized country that sends their troops into battle then criticizes them every day," Adams said. "All we do is criticize them ... I don’t hear any good stories about the men and women who are protecting us from the bad people. Nobody’s talking about that."