Ghost gun manufacturer Polymer80, Inc. is being sued by the city of Baltimore for "causing" a public health crisis by flooding the city with untraceable firearms being used in crimes, Mayor Brandon Scott announced Wednesday.
Polymer80, Inc. is a Nevada-based gun manufacturer that sells kits for customers to put together firearms on their own. Many of the weapons don't have serial numbers, making them difficult to track and regulate.
The mayor's office in a statement said "ghost guns" make up about 19% of firearms seized by the Baltimore Police Department.
Officials said the company "intentionally undermines federal and state firearms laws by designing, manufacturing, selling and providing ghost gun kits and parts to buyers who do not undergo a background check."
The lawsuit is seeking "compensatory damages for policing costs to the City of Baltimore, punitive damages and injunctive relief requiring Polymer80 to stop the flow of ghost guns into Baltimore City," the release said.
Scott during a press conference said the city has to "crack down on the companies that are profiting off the destruction and death within our communities."
"We all know that ghost guns continue to be a huge challenge for Baltimore city," he added. "They are a growing menace to the people of Baltimore and quite frankly to residents across the country."
The mayor's office said Baltimore police prior to 2018 had never recovered a ghost gun.
"Quite frankly, if a young person can't drink or buy alcohol from a liquor store, if they can't rent a car, they shouldn't be able to go online and buy a ghost gun," Scott said.
The lawsuit was announced on the same day as the state's new gun law went into effect.