Suburban mom shocked 16-year-old son could buy 'ghost gun' kit online without background check
CHICAGO - Chantel was horrified when she discovered her 16-year-old son bought a gun kit online.
She noticed money was missing from a bank account, and that he used a debit card to make the transaction.
The popular website did ask for a birthdate, but there’s no checks and balances to determine who is making the purchase. So, Chantel decided to call the company and ask for a refund.
"I asked what did you all send him? He said a Glock gun kit," Chantel said.
The company agreed to refund the money as long as the package was returned unopened.
There was no background check required, and once the gun is assembled there’s no serial number attached to it, meaning it can’t be traced back to anyone.
That’s something President Joe Biden plans to change. He wants serial numbers attached to gun parts and background checks for them.
Some gun prevention advocates believe it has exacerbated Chicago’s gun violence problem, because you can’t track "ghost guns" back to the original owner.
"Not only is this dangerous, these guns can be sold and there’s no federal or state regulations," said Kina Collins, a gun violence advocate.
Criminal Justice lecturer Michael Brown doesn’t believe ghost guns are a problem here in Chicago.
"You haven’t heard of a crime where a gun taken during the commission of those crimes didn’t have serial numbers," said Michael Brown, Criminal Justice Lecturer.
The Chicago Police Department has seized 2,894 illegal gun already this year; compared to 2,222 from this same time period in 2020.