Lombardo declined interview requests to discuss the discrepancy but issued a statement through his spokeswoman in the governor’s office. Last year, as his former department continued to seize dozens of ghost guns each month, Lombardo vetoed a bill that would have banned the guns’ components. Lombardo’s comments as a candidate foreshadowed how he would approach the issue of ghost guns as governor. The company, which “designs and develops firearms and their components,” is the largest source of ghost guns in the country, according to law enforcement agencies. Most of the ghost guns seized by Las Vegas police during that time were sold by Polymer80, based in Dayton, Nevada. The analysis was limited to handguns, because they represent the overwhelming majority of firearms used in crime. KUNR and APM Reports reviewed records of nearly 40,000 handguns that were seized by Las Vegas police between 2015 and late 2023. According to media reports, the man told authorities that he’d been trying to scare his brother while holding a gun he didn’t realize was loaded. Just three weeks before Lombardo made his comments, officers arrested a man with three prior felony convictions after he allegedly pointed a ghost gun at his ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill her.Īnd three months before Lombardo’s statement, a 20-year-old man accidentally killed his 16-year-old brother in a hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip with a ghost gun he built himself.
Las Vegas police seized more than 200 ghost guns in the year leading up to his June interview, according to an analysis by KUNR Public Radio and APM Reports.ĭespite Lombardo’s claims to the contrary, officers seized ghost guns while responding to violent crimes such as robbery, assault and domestic violence. Lombardo told Thompson that ghost guns were “not a big issue.”īut according to a list of impounded ghost guns his department maintained at the time, Lombardo’s claims were wildly inaccurate. He said his department had tracked only six incidents involving ghost guns over the previous year and none of those guns had been used in crimes. When the group’s lobbyist, Randi Thompson, asked about his stance on ghost guns, Lombardo downplayed the prevalence of the untraceable, easy-to-assemble firearms. The event was held by the Nevada Firearms Coalition PAC. He was in the early stages of his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor. That same day, Joe Lombardo, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, met on Zoom with a group of pro-gun voters. “If he did not have that gun,” the teen’s lawyers wrote, the man who was shot “would likely be alive today.” In this case, the weapon used was a ghost gun – a firearm originally sold as unfinished parts without a serial number or background check and assembled at home. According to court documents, the victim was high on methamphetamine and had been acting erratically before swinging at the teen with a fist.įederal and Nevada state laws prohibit minors from possessing firearms in most cases. In June 2021, a 17-year-old pulled a pistol out of his Louis Vuitton shoulder bag and fatally shot a 39-year-old man in the parking lot of a Las Vegas apartment complex. Hate speech, racism, witch hunts, etc.Editor’s notes: This story was produced as part of a collaboration between KUNR Public Radio and APM Reports as part of the Public Media Accountability Initiative, which supports investigative reporting at local media outlets around the country.Īs a warning, this story contains strong language.No porn, hate posts, or anything of that nature is allowed.Hating on VEGAS and boasting about other video editing software.Posting deals when the software goes on sale.Asking questions about VEGAS Pro software.These actions will get you permanently banned. Our growing community is dedicated to helping out VEGAS Pro editors by answering questions and keeping you up to date with the latest information and downloads! We strive for a positive atmosphere and do not tolerate any form of bullying, harassment, or advocating of piracy.
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