Manhattan DA Bragg asks 3D printer company to block production of ‘ghost guns’

Manhattan's district attorney is asking a Chinese manufacturer of 3D printers to block the production of homemade “ghost guns” after untraceable weapons made by such printers were used in a number of crimes in the city.

DA Alvin Bragg sent a letter Wednesday to Shenzhen Creality 3D Technology — which manufacturers several popular printer models available at U.S. stores — urging it to install software in its printers to block the printing of common gun parts, according to a statement from the DA’s office.

Bragg is also calling on the company to remove blueprints from its cloud platform that can be used to print weapons without background checks. Bragg will be sending similar letters to other 3D printer companies, according to the statement.

“We are hopeful that we can partner with these companies and make a meaningful impact on public safety,” Bragg said in a statement.

Creality did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A DA spokesperson did not immediately say what, if any, recourse the office will have if Creality refuses its request.

The letter comes after the NYPD and the DA’s office seized a number of weapons that had been printed with the company’s personal 3D printers, according to the statement. Bragg requested a meeting with representatives from the company to discuss the safeguards.

The letter, which was addressed to the CEO of the company, listed two cases in which New York law enforcement authorities seized weapons that had been created using Creality printers.

In one case, a suspect who was manufacturing drugs and 3D-printing assault weapons in 2023 had used a Creality machine to print numerous firearms, the letter said.

In another case, also in 2023, a man who had threatened to kill his girlfriend created an “arsenal” of weapons in his apartment that were manufactured using a Creality printer, the letter states.

Bragg cited numbers that show the seizures of ghost guns in the city has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2024, authorities seized 438 ghost guns, up from 151 in 2021. The letter also cited other high-profile crimes in which a ghost gun was allegedly used, including charges that Luigi Mangione used a ghost gun to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.