What to Know
- Three young people were arrested after police raided a "ghost gun" operation at a licensed day care in East Harlem in which multiple guns and a 3D printer were seized, police said
- Two completed 3D-printed guns and an assault pistol that was nearly completed were found inside an unlocked room near where kids slept and played, as well as a 3D printer, printing tools, plastic, filament and more
- The bust came in the wake of a 1-year-old dying after being exposed to fentanyl at another day care in the city.
Three young people were arrested after police raided a "ghost gun" operation at a licensed day care in East Harlem in which multiple guns and a 3D printer were seized, police said — a bust that came in the wake of a 1-year-old dying after being exposed to fentanyl at another day care in the city.
NYPD officials said during Wednesday's press conference that they found multiple ghost guns at the operation inside the apartment on East 117th Street, including two completed 3D-printed guns and an assault pistol that was nearly completed. A 3D printer, printing tools, plastic, filament and more were also found inside the unlocked room.
"You got an 18-year-old with a 3D printer in his room. He is not making little robotic toys, he’s making guns," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "We are clear that we must protect children in New York City. We are dealing with a new enemy."
Karon Coley was arrested and charged with illegal firearms possession, manufacturing an assault weapon and acting in a manner injurious to a child, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. The 18-year-old Coley was running the operation out of a bedroom in his mother's apartment, where she ran a day care center. The center was closed on Wednesday.
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Officials said that a dog that had been neglected was also removed from the apartment.
Two others, both underage teens, were arrested in connection with the ghost gun operation.
Investigators said the guns were kept in the unlocked room, just feet from where young children played, learned and slept.
Coley appeared in court later Wednesday night, where a judge set his bail at $350,000 cash. Defense attorneys asked for a much lower bail, noting the teen had no criminal history whatsoever. They maintained that Coley made no purchases related to the alleged ghost guns.
It was not immediately clear if Coley's mother would face charges.
The ghost gun discovery came after an investigation by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau into the purchase of ghost gun parts from online retailers using stolen credit cards.
NYPD data shows more and more guns are being seized in the five boroughs. In 2021, they seized 263. In 2022, that number nearly doubled, with 436 seized in all.
The disturbing day care discovery also comes less than two weeks after 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici died from fentanyl poisoning at a Bronx day care. The infant was one of four youngsters to overdose after being exposed to the deadly drug. The other three were hospitalized but expected to recover.
Adams pledged changes will come for day care inspections in the future.
"There’s an extensive process already in place, but we are just dealing with a new enemy and we have to stay ahead of those. You’re finding creative ways to create dangerous environments," said Adams. "This is a heartbreaking scenario of thinking that you are dropping your child off to a place of safe haven, just to find out it was a dangerous environment where someone was making a gun inside."
