BCAT News

As part of an ongoing investigation into ghost guns, police officers seized completed Glock-style ghost guns and components of incomplete handguns and AR-15-style rifles from a Brentwood Lane residence in Burlington. 

“We have recently seen multiple very concerning incidents involving ghost guns,” said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. “These firearms pose a very real threat to our communities, they are untraceable and those who possess and distribute these weapons are intentionally violating the gun laws we have in place in Massachusetts.”

So-called ghost guns, firearms that are not serialized and are untraceable, can be assembled from parts bought separately or in kits, or can be 3D-printed. Federal and Massachusetts lawmakers have attempted to crack down on the sale of build-a-gun kits and individual gun parts, but some loopholes remain. The number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement and reported to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms increased more than 1,000 percent between 2017 and 2021, according to a federal Department of Justice report released this February. 

 “In Middlesex we will continue to use every tool available to us, from enforcement and prosecution to working at a legislative level to close the existing loopholes that allow those without a gun license to possess the tools to make ‘do-it-yourself’ firearms,” Ryan said. 

The Brentwood Lane home was searched as part of an investigation into Sean O’Connor, 37 of Woburn, who was pulled over for alleged erratic driving on Feb. 9 and found to be in possession of a loaded Glock-style ghost gun, along with magazines and ammunition for an AR-15 rifle. O’Connor has also been charged with possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a large capacity feeding device, improper storage of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, caring a large capacity firearm, possession of a large capacity feeding device, possession of a firearm without a license, subsequent offense, possession of ammunition without a license and operating with a suspended license. 

Officials also found 3D-printed pistol frames, magazines and gun parts, as well counterfeit Xanax pills, at the Totman Drive, Woburn home of Vincent Johns, 32. 

“These cases are just two examples of a dangerous trend we are seeing involving firearms,” Ryan said. “In addition to the dangers to the public posed by unregistered and untraceable firearms, gun parts manufactured with 3D printers, similar to what we found in Woburn pose a particular risk to the user due to the fact that improper assembly or the use of plastic parts makes the guns likely to break apart or fire improperly upon use.”