Teen arrested after raid uncovers illegal 3D-printed gun operation

DETROIT, MI (WWJ) — A raid at the house in Detroit may have stopped several so-called ghost guns from hitting the streets after uncovering an illegal 3D-printed gun operation.

The operation was the result of a joint investigation between the Detroit Police Department and Homeland Security after they intercepted a package from China containing a Glock switch, a device that converts a handgun into a fully automatic weapon.

According to Cmdr. Ryan Connor of the Detroit Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit, authorities allowed the package to be delivered to the home at 20161 Algin Street before moving in with a search warrant on Wednesday.

Cheron Barton, a neighbor, watched the scene unfold just steps from her front door.

“I seen it was like a big black police truck, and there was a police car, and then it was like three undercover cars, and I had seen them bringing, like, a lot of stuff out the house,” Barton said.

DPD released a photo Thursday evening of what they found inside the home.

“Approximately 12 handgun lowers, and five rifle lowers, that’s the lower portion of a handgun, were recovered. Also a 3D-printed glock switch was recovered, and some other tools that would help in the manufacturing of said devices,” Connor said.

While 3D printers are not illegal, printing firearms with the intent to sell them, which police believe was the case here, is against the law.

Aside from uncovering this operation, police arrested a 14-year-old who is facing felony weapons charges.

“It’s scary for everyone. At that age, do they have the ability to know right from wrong? What are their intentions with these weapons? Do they have the maturity? There’s a lot that goes through our minds about those crimes,” Connor said.

Because Homeland Security is involved, this teenager is likely to face federal charges soon.

“I don’t allow my kids around that type of stuff. So had I known that my kids would never even, you know, been with them,” Barton said.