Accused Kansas City-area school shooter allegedly used ‘ghost gun’

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The high school student accused of shooting and wounding an administrator and a school resource officer in Olathe, Kansas, last week allegedly used a "ghost gun."

Jaylon Elmore, 18, was also shot and has been charged with attempted capital murder. He remains hospitalized and his bond has been set at $1 million.

Ghost guns don't have serial numbers and can't be traced. They can be bought online and assembled at home. These types of guns are often sold in what is called a "ghost gun kit" and are sold at gun shows and online every day.

The kits are available for anyone to purchase without a background check, which authorities say makes them attractive for people who can't legally have guns, such as felons.

David Pucino with Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence says, "Things like a background check so a person who can be prohibited from possessing a firearm who couldn't walk into a gun dealer because of a history of felonies or domestic violence can just log onto their computer, order a ghost gun kit to their home and make the firearm themselves."

Ghost guns are also appealing to gun traffickers because they are intentionally marketed as unregulated.

The ghost gun kits contain all the needed parts to turn an unfinished frame or receiver into a fully functioning gun. Once the gun is assembled it looks, feels and works just like a traditional gun.

Guns are made of different parts and the federal law only regulates one of them in a gun and some companies avoid the federal definition of a gun by stripping down that part of the gun and letting the buyer build it back.

"They then sell that piece along with all the other parts you need to assemble a gun and the huddles and information you need to drill out those last holes to finish the piece," Pucino said.

Kansas and Missouri have no regulations on ghost guns.

Missouri law makes it illegal for a licensed dealer to sell a handgun to anyone under the age of 21 -- such as Elmore -- and it is also illegal for an 18-year-old to buy gun ammunition.

States that have banned ghost guns include New Jersey, Connecticut, California and Hawaii.