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Academy For College And Career Exploration Student Arrested With 'Ghost Gun,' Police Say

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An Academy for College and Career Exploration student was arrested Wednesday with a "ghost gun," Baltimore City School Police said.

Sgt. Clyde Boatwright said the firearm was found in the student's backpack at the high school in Hampden.

No other details were provided.

"Ghost guns" can be bought online and assembled from kits. The weapons are not traceable by law enforcement because they do not have serial numbers.

Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore Police Commissioner have joined policymakers, including Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, in calling for a ban on the parts.

Senate Bill 387 in the Maryland General Assembly would ban the sale, receipt and transfer of unfinished frames and receivers that do not have a serial number by June 1.

Possession of guns without a serial number will become illegal at the start of 2023, giving owners seven months to sell their guns to a dealer or have them imprinted with a serial number by a federally licensed arms dealer, Frosh said last month.

"As they specifically advertise, in an hour, or even less, you can have a functional handgun," the attorney general said of online "ghost gun" kits. "We can no longer tolerate the fiction that these components should not be defined as regulated firearms."

During a January event to promote the bill, Harrison said Baltimore police seized 345 "ghost guns" in 2021, up from 12 three years ago. Of those, 32 were linked to a homicide or shooting, the commissioner said.

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