Kirk Garrison, a forensics expert with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, has spent years working at the intersection of digital blueprints, heated plastic filaments, and real-life criminal.
TL;DR: A small group of forensic researchers is challenging the belief that 3D-printed ghost guns – unserialized firearms built at home – are completely untraceable. Their work offers a glimmer of hope to investigators and lawmakers grappling with the growing threat of criminals using these weapons.
Kirk Garrison, a forensics expert with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, has spent years working at the intersection of digital blueprints, heated plastic filaments, and real-life criminal cases. He recently told 404 Media that he has started finding ways to match 3D-printed objects to the specific machines that produced them.
« That’s when I was like, ‘We might need to know a little bit more about this now if we’re actually going to be seeing this stuff and potentially have to testify to it' », Garrison said. « What I’m doing is in its infancy and it might be years before authorities can reliably match a gun to the machine that made it, if they can do it at all. »
The science is still young, and Garrison makes clear he speaks only for himself, not his department. His journey into 3D-printed forensics began in 2018, when he started seeing a wave of gun parts produced with consumer-grade printers. Most were 80 percent kits or conversion kits – small plastic components that enable standard firearms to fire automatically. The first time he worked a case involving a fully 3D-printed gun frame, he realized more specialized expertise would be necessary.
A pivotal moment came when Garrison, attending a conference in Atlanta, heard FBI lab technician Corey Scott describe seeing consistent toolmarks on objects printed with a 3D printer.
