A man is charged with using a ghost gun to shoot at two Los Angeles police officers in a patrol car on Monday, officials allege.
“Stopping violent crime that targets police officers, and the people they are sworn to protect, is essential to building safer and healthier communities,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “My office is holding accountable the people who use guns to harm others and working to restrict access to ghost guns, which have contributed to the recent rise in violent crime across our nation.”
Anthony Lamont Hill, 18, faces two counts each of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder of a peace officer in performance of their duties and assault with a semi-automatic firearm on a peace officer in performance of their duties as well as one count of carrying an unregistered firearm in public.
On May 23, two officers in a marked patrol vehicle reportedly saw the suspect walking down Washington Boulevard with a weapon. Officers attempted to contact the defendant who then ran from officers, according to officials.
As officers drove toward the defendant, Hill allegedly turned around and fired a 9mm Polymer80 unregistered handgun at officers. Bullet strikes were observed in the officers’ patrol vehicle, prosecutors said.
Earlier this year, District Attorney Gascón called upon American Express, Mastercard and Visa to stop online payments for the purchase of ghost gun kits. Ghost guns are firearms kits sold mostly on the internet.
They are unregistered and lack a serial number, making them untraceable by law enforcement.
This case remains under investigation by the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division.