Ghost guns, in particular 3D-printed guns, have been gaining popularity among youth, with several criminal violent extremist examples in recent years. Just this month, a 13-year-old boy was arrested in Washington for possessing a large cache of weapons and making threats to carry out a school shooting. Among the collection of 23 firearms, several were manufactured with a 3D-printer. This past summer, in July 2025, 18-year-old Felix Winter was tried in court for plotting a mass shooting at his school in Edinburgh. Winter, who was 15 when he committed the offence, was motivated by neo-Nazi ideology and had idolised the 1999 Columbine school shooters. He had intended to use a 3D-printer to manufacture the guns to be used in the shooting.
Further, in March 2024, Italian police apprehended a 23-year-old for attempting to manufacture and build a 3D-printed FGC-9 rifle. He was a proponent of anarchist ideology and had intended to build weapons to be disseminated to the wider anarchist movement. In the same year, Greek police dismantled a firearm manufacturing and trafficking ring comprised of three 19-year-olds and one 20-year-old. The cell was in possession of a cache of weapons, including a 3D-printed Glock frame and an unfinished FGC-9 MKII rifle, and had received information on how to manufacture the firearms from external parties.
These are just a few examples that showcase the alarming and increasing trend of 3DPF cases involving youth below the age of 24. Furthermore, several of these cases are linked to violent extreme right-wing ideology. Between 2018 and August 2025, there were at least 80 cases of youth involved with 3DPFs globally.¹ This Insight aims to shed light on the global trends pertaining to youth involvement with 3DPFs and is an update to the author’s report on global proliferation trends of 3DPFs.
Global Trends
Figure 1: Youth Involvement by Year.
There has been a steady year-on-year increase in youth involvement with 3DPF between 2021 and 2024 (Figure 1). Youth involvement here refers to the activities as mentioned in Figure 4, including the possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of these weapons across the criminal and terrorist spectrum. Fourteen youth cases have been recorded this year (as of August). The increase in the number of cases post-2021 may be a consequence of an increase in media reporting on 3DPFs, as the data analysed here is sourced primarily from media reports. Nevertheless, it does highlight the growing involvement of youth with 3DPFs. This coincides with the proliferation of blueprints and information regarding 3DPFs on the clear web and the increased accessibility of this technology.
Figure 2: Geographical spread of 3DPF youth cases.
Figures 2 and 3 show that the cases involving youth between 2018 and August 2025 are concentrated in North America, with the United States (US) recording the highest number of cases (N=43), followed by Europe, with the United Kingdom (UK) recording the second highest number of cases (N=13).² The high number of cases in North America may be due to the inherent prevalence of a strong gun culture, particularly in the US. Conversely, in Europe, the growing use of 3DPFs may be a consequence of strict firearms legislation. 3DPFs are viewed as a viable alternative to commercial firearms that remove the need for dependence on external criminal and trafficking networks.
Figure 3: Percentage of cases by continent.
The most prevalent age range of individuals arrested for association with 3DPFs is 15-20, followed by 21-24 (Table 1). The presence of individuals below the age of 15, though small in number, is a cause for concern. In September 2024, a 14-year-old boy was arrested in a suspected 3DPF manufacturing operation in Michigan. A similar case occurred in California, where a 14-year-old was arrested for manufacturing 3DPFs and was also in possession of gang paraphernalia and ammunition.
| Age group | Number of individuals |
| Below 15 | 3 |
| 15-20 | 48 |
| 21-24 | 46 |
Table 1: Number of individuals arrested by age range. The number of individuals is higher than the number of cases examined as each case may consist of more than one individual.
Figure 4: Type of use by youths.
67% of the youth cases have involved the manufacturing and possession of firearms (Figure 4). However, the majority of individuals were arrested before they could use the weapons. The firearms were only discharged in 8 cases, most of them being incidents of unplanned or accidental shootings.
Links to Right-Wing Extremism
Figure 5 indicates that while most of the cases were linked to criminal activity, 19 cases (24%) involving youth were linked to terrorism, of which 17 were linked to the far-right.
Figure 5: Percentage of cases by ideological affiliation.
The UK recorded the highest number of cases involving youth affiliated with the far-right (Table 2).³ Cases have also been detected in the US, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Iceland.
| Country | Number of cases |
| UK | 8 |
| US | 4 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Iceland | 1 |
Table 2: Number of far-right cases by country.
In February 2024, three men, including two 24-year-olds, were charged with planning a right-wing inspired attack on an Islamic education centre in Leeds using an FGC-9 firearm. In Germany, a 19-year-old who had 3D-printed parts of a pistol was suspected of plotting right-wing attacks in the country. In April 2023, a 23-year-old Fort Bragg soldier had manufactured an FGC-9 and had planned attacks on the Black community in North Carolina.
Similar to global 3DPF case patterns, extreme right-wing ideology is the most prevalent among youth. Weapons, in particular firearms, are a key component of some extreme right-wing ideological movements, and 3DPFs have naturally found their way into discussions and chat rooms associated with the far-right. Social media platforms such as Telegram and Discord seem to be the most frequently used in these cases, while others, such as Snapchat and Instagram, have also been detected.
Links to Left-Wing/Anarchist Extremism
Apart from cases of right-wing extremism, cases involving left-wing/anarchist ideology have been detected as well. One aforementioned case involved a 23-year-old Italian who had subscribed to anarchist ideology. He had attempted to manufacture an FGC-9 MKII and homemade ammunition.
In February 2024, 20-year-old Jacob Graham from Liverpool, who proclaimed to be an anarchist, planned to kill more than 50 people by attacking politicians’ houses and government buildings. He was in possession of a 3D-printer and had design manuals for the FGC-9 MKII, but it was unclear if he had engaged in the manufacture of the weapon. He was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism.
Types of Weapons and Accessibility
Figure 6: Specific type of firearms used by youth.
The FGC-9 is the most popular 3DPF among youth, as shown in Figure 6. The FGC-9 is a hybrid, pistol calibre-carbine that comprises a mix of 3D-printed components and commercial hardware store material. Although other hybrid 3DPFs that are purportedly easier to make, such as the Urutau and the Not-A-Glock, the FGC-9 remains the most prevalent 3DPF globally. This is likely attributed to the popularity and fame of its designer, Jacob Duygu, popularly known by his online moniker ‘JStark1809’. Despite his death in 2021, he is still revered as a martyr within the online 3DPF community for creating the FGC-9. His ultimate goal was to make firearms accessible to anyone in any part of the world to defend themselves from oppression and tyrannical governments. At the time of its release, the FGC-9 was stated to be one of the easiest 3DPFs to manufacture.
Another concerning trend is the prevalence of conversion devices – small devices which can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic – among youth. These devices cost less than USD$5 to manufacture but are being sold on the market for USD$50-150. There have been several cases of conversion devices being used in fatal shootings by youth, particularly in the US. For instance, in 2023, a 15-year-old in Colorado shot a police officer using a Glock handgun with a conversion device attached. Further, in April 2024, a 14-year-old was arrested in South Carolina for fatally shooting a 16-year-old boy and his father with a firearm fitted with a conversion device. More recently, in March 2025, another 14-year-old shot and killed a New Jersey police officer with a similar firearm.
Implications
The 3DPF movement is heavily driven by online communities, and as youth increasingly spend time on the internet, the likelihood of exposure to these communities remains high. For example, a recent study noted that nearly all teens in the US use the internet daily, and the share of teens who reported being online almost constantly has doubled over the past decade. The prevalence of information pertaining to 3DPFs on the internet could be a catalyst in exposing youth to content related to these weapons.
In March 2025, a 17-year-old Singaporean, who identified himself as an “East Asian Supremacist”, planned attacks on several mosques in the country, aiming to emulate the Christchurch shooter. He had communicated with a gun maker in the US who had suggested 3D-printing a firearm and ammunition. However, the Singaporean youth ultimately did not follow through with the suggestion to use a 3DPF, citing “cost and technical issues.” This highlights the fluidity of information transfers that may be able to influence an attacker’s modus operandi in current times.
Apart from firearms, several youths have attempted to use 3D-printing technology to manufacture other weapons. In November 2024, 24-year-old Skyler Philippi from Tennessee was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for plotting attacks on an electric substation in Nashville using a homemade drone with explosives attached to it. Philippi claimed to have been previously associated with right-wing groups such as the Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.
3D-printing, which was once an expensive technology that was confined to industrial laboratories, is now being incorporated into the syllabi of various education curricula worldwide. High schools in countries like the US, UK, Greece, Japan and Singapore, as well as other institutions of higher learning, have access to this technology. Although this does not necessarily provide a causal link to the involvement of youths with 3DPFs, it does demonstrate that this age group has an increased exposure to this technology compared to several years ago. The technology is also becoming cheaper, thereby increasing its accessibility to a wider range of people.
Furthermore, the barrier to entry and technical threshold to build these weapons are decreasing rapidly, particularly with the proliferation of 3DPF designs that are easier to make, less dependent on commercial components and require little to no assembly. Several new designs do not require much assembly and thus could be potentially attractive to the younger generation.
Countermeasures
Several 3DPF plots have been thwarted as a result of online monitoring of chatrooms and effective intelligence work. While online monitoring, cyber patrolling and legal measures such as banning the manufacture of firearms and firearm parts and criminalising the possession of 3DPF blueprints are crucial, the issue of youth involvement requires a more specific and targeted approach.
There are numerous benefits to 3D-printing and teaching youth how to become proficient at it, particularly in the STEM fields. However, it is also important to increase youth awareness of the dangers of 3D-printing and 3DPFs. Sensitising them to the legal implications of possessing 3DPF blueprints and attempting to manufacture these weapons may serve as an effective deterrent. The general public should also be made aware and educated on these threats. This could be done through workshops and awareness programs in schools and colleges, for example. Outreach programs involving law enforcement and legal professionals targeted at youth would also be effective in spreading awareness in this regard.
3D-printing and tech companies must also shoulder the responsibility of incorporating digital defence measures that prevent firearm blueprints from being read and printed by their technology. This may be in the form of built-in security measures that detect and prevent digital firearm designs from being printed. These security measures could also be powered by artificial intelligence in the future. Schools and universities must also be brought to the discussion table alongside tech companies and policy makers in this regard, as 3D-printing is rapidly becoming part of mainstream education.
Conclusion
The threat posed by 3DPFs is growing by the day. The increasing involvement of youths on both the criminal and extremist fronts is concerning. Mitigating this issue is a constant challenge as law enforcement agencies have to constantly keep their eyes on the ball and stay one step ahead of their competitors – malicious actors who are constantly trying to misuse this technology and pose a threat to society. Close cooperation and joint initiatives between law enforcement and the public and private sectors remain imperative in preventing more youths from trying to obtain these weapons.
Endnotes
- The analysis in this article is based on a database of 325 global 3D-printed firearm cases from 2013-August 2025 collected by the author from open-source scanning of the web. Note: The numbers here may suffer from a certain degree of under-reporting and thus may not represent absolute values.
- The high numbers in these regions may also be due to the high reporting of these cases there.
- This again may be due to high media reporting in the UK.
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Rueben Dass is an Associate Research Fellow at the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a specialist unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
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