A Springfield resident is accused of building AR-15 rifles and 3D printing the components of untraceable ghost guns from his home, police said as the man faces a range of firearm charges following his arrest Tuesday.
When police searched the home of 38-year-old Joshua Buffum, they said they found a makeshift workstation and 3D printer alongside homemade rifles and handguns, none of which had serial numbers.
Facing 16 firearm charges, Buffum appeared Wednesday in Springfield District Court. His bail was set at $2,500, the Hampden District Attorney’s Office said.
“Ghost guns, or self-manufactured firearms that are fully functional and untraceable, are gaining prominence with violent criminals and gun traffickers,” District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in a statement. “This arrest highlights the significant public safety threat these weapons create, when someone can be manufacturing high capacity military-style assault rifles from their living room right in the middle of Springfield.”
Buffum told police that he builds the weapons as a hobby, but does not sell them, according to court filings.
In recent weeks, police said they learned that Buffum was building AR-15s from his Hancock Street home.
AR-15-style rifle often rises to national discussion from their use in mass shootings, including the massacre Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
Police executed a search warrant at Buffum’s home Tuesday afternoon, finding the workstation equipped with a 3D printer, other machines used to build guns, one AR-15 rifle, three other AR-15s under construction, two handguns, a dozen extended magazines and other ammunition, they said.
Officers also said Buffum was in the process of converting the handguns into fully automatic weapons using parts created on the printer.
The guns, built without serial numbers, were all untraceable to police, the district attorney said.
When police searched the home of 38-year-old Joshua Buffum, they said they found a makeshift workstation and 3D printer alongside homemade rifles and handguns, none of which had serial numbers.
Facing 16 firearm charges, Buffum appeared Wednesday in Springfield District Court. His bail was set at $2,500, the Hampden District Attorney’s Office said.
“Ghost guns, or self-manufactured firearms that are fully functional and untraceable, are gaining prominence with violent criminals and gun traffickers,” District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in a statement. “This arrest highlights the significant public safety threat these weapons create, when someone can be manufacturing high capacity military-style assault rifles from their living room right in the middle of Springfield.”
Buffum told police that he builds the weapons as a hobby, but does not sell them, according to court filings.
In recent weeks, police said they learned that Buffum was building AR-15s from his Hancock Street home.
AR-15-style rifle often rises to national discussion from their use in mass shootings, including the massacre Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
Police executed a search warrant at Buffum’s home Tuesday afternoon, finding the workstation equipped with a 3D printer, other machines used to build guns, one AR-15 rifle, three other AR-15s under construction, two handguns, a dozen extended magazines and other ammunition, they said.
Officers also said Buffum was in the process of converting the handguns into fully automatic weapons using parts created on the printer.
The guns, built without serial numbers, were all untraceable to police, the district attorney said.
Springfield man was building AR-15s and 3D printing ghost guns from his home, police say
Ghost guns are self-manufactured weapons fully functional, but untraceable, officials said.
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