NYC daycare had "ghost gun," infant killed by fentanyl

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

So-called ghost guns, otherwise known as unserialized firearms, are all the rage among the gun control crowd. They’re absolutely convinced that these are the truest scrouge on the planet and that we need laws banning them.

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I get why they feel that way. Anyone can make such a weapon–a feature, not a bug, though they disagree–and won’t need to undergo a background check to do so.

That terrifies some people.

So, they want laws banning people from making them. New York has such a law and has had if for a while now. In that state, having an unserialized firearm is about like having fentanyl in a daycare.

Oh, wait…

New York City officials have vowed to take action after ghost guns and a 3D printer were found in an unlocked room at a licensed day care center just days after fentanyl was discovered at another site where a child fell ill and later died from apparent opioid exposure.

“We are clear that we must protect children in New York City,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Wednesday as he vowed to “lead the entire country” in taking steps to ramp up safety at day care sites.

The proclamation came as the New York City Police Department announced the arrest of an 18-year-old found to have 3D-printed ghost guns at his mother’s home in East Harlem, which they said was being operated as a licensed day care center.

Police said they found multiple ghost guns in an unlocked room at the residence, including two completed 3D-printed guns and an assault pistol that was in the final stages of assembly. A 3D printer and printing tools were also found.

Karon Coley was expected to be charged with illegal firearms possession, manufacturing of an assault weapon and reckless endangerment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at Wednesday’s news conference.

Three people — Grei Mendez, 36, the owner of the day care center, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, have been charged in connection with the Bronx incident, with authorities saying they worked together to deal drugs.

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I’m absolutely shocked by this.

Normally, people who keep fentanyl in a daycare center around very small children are generally so law-abiding. The idea that they’d have an unserialized firearm is beyond shocking.

OK, in all seriousness, a child lost its life and there’s absolutely nothing funny about that. I can’t even imagine what the parents are going through right now, especially because this was somewhere they paid to keep their kid safe for them during the day.

But my overall point about the “ghost gun” thing is that there are laws prohibiting not just the unserialized gun but also the fentanyl, yet criminals are going to criminal. If they want to print guns they’re going to and you’re never going to stop it. It’s just not possible.

After all, we haven’t stopped opioids from being bought and sold in this country and those kill far more people than any “ghost gun” ever could.

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