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Australian teen accused of 3D printing 'fully functional' firearm

2022-06-14T18:02:42.537Z


Police in Australia have seized a fully functional 3D printed rifle capable of firing 15 rounds with a single pull of the trigger.


This is how several countries have managed to mitigate violence with weapons 1:25

Brisbane, Australia (CNN) --

An Australian teenager has been charged with firearms-related offenses after police seized a fully functional weapon he allegedly made at home using a 3D printer.


Western Australian police found the gun and several other firearms after executing a search warrant at the 18-year-old's home in early June.

"This firearm, even if it looks like a toy, has the potential to cause serious harm in our community," Detective Sergeant Major Blair Smith told reporters.

"It is deeply concerning that this man was able to make this firearm in his home using a 3D printer and readily available materials."

The plastic gun is capable of firing 15 rounds with a single pull of the trigger, according to CNN affiliate Nine News.

Police say it took the teenager two days to make it from materials costing less than 40 Australian dollars ($28), Nine reported.

The teenager is accused of creating the semi-automatic rifle using a 3D printer at home.

Last year, the Western Australian government proposed changing gun laws to make it illegal to manufacture 3D plastic firearms.

According to the proposal, a maximum sentence of 10 years would be applied to anyone caught with plans or instructions to make them.

In Australia, civilians are prohibited from owning fully automatic weapons, and all other gun ownership is heavily regulated and restricted to those over the age of 18 with a valid license.

The laws were introduced in 1996 after a gunman opened fire on tourists at Port Arthur, a former colonial prison in Tasmania, killing 35 people.

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The massacre horrified the Australian public and the government was quick to tighten the rules on owning firearms.

A gun amnesty was launched, encouraging people to turn in guns to local police stations anonymously and without penalty.

Combined with a weapons buyback plan, the move took some 640,000 weapons out of circulation.

Since then, short-term amnesties have been announced: in the last national amnesty in 2017, some 57,000 weapons were handed over in just three months, according to the government.

Last July, the national gun amnesty became permanent.

The Western Australian teenager has been charged with offenses including the unlicensed manufacture of firearms and ammunition, and possession of a prohibited weapon.

He is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Australia is often held up as an example of how decisive gun control action can reduce gun deaths.

The last mass shooting in Australia was in 2018, when seven people were killed on a property in Perth, Western Australia.

It was the worst mass murder in the country in 22 years.

Australia's firearm homicide rate is 33 times lower than that of the United States, according to the Gun Legislation website.

3D printing firearms

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-06-14

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