Man arrested for making ‘ghost guns’ and assault weapons in NYC apartment 

A man was arrested for making ghost guns in his Manhattan apartment, authorities said on Tuesday. 

After raiding the home of Jose Rivera, 47, New York Police Department (NYPD) found six assembled guns inside a Lower East Side home, two of which were assault weapons, prosecutors said. 

The weapons sized included an AR-15-style rifle, three guns loaded with high-capacity magazines, and 200 rounds of ammunition.  

Additionally, two of the weapons were “easily accessible” to a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old that were also living in the apartment. 

Rivera allegedly spent over $7,000 on firearm parts and a “Ghost Gunner-3,” a fully automated machine that makes weapons out of raw blocks of aluminum. 

Over the past six years, Rivera had been buying equipment to set up his operation. He bought most of it in Pennsylvania to bypass New York’s strict gun laws, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. 

Rivera is facing several counts of weapons possessions and endangering the welfare of a child. 

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said ghost guns are the “fastest-growing public safety threat” to New York. The state has seen a 38% increase in seizures of homemade guns during the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2021. 

“The allegations in this case once again make clear how easy it is for anyone to assemble a semi-automatic weapon in their own home,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“Thanks to the work of our prosecutors and the hardworking detectives at the NYPD, we have prevented these firearms from hitting our streets and causing harm to New Yorkers.”