New Kensington man accused of firing shots from 'ghost gun'

An investigation of gunshots Sunday night in New Kensington turned up a “ghost gun,” police say.

Officers recovered a 9mm handgun they say Brandon Keith Allen, 27, of New Kensington was carrying and threw away while police chased him along Leishman Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed against Allen.

Ghost guns, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are privately made firearms that do not have serial numbers and, therefore, can be impossible to trace.

Guns made by licensed manufacturers or sold through licensed dealers must have a unique serial number that can be traced to the lawful owner.

But guns made by private individuals and not offered for sale to others are not required to have a serial number. Often, people can buy or make the parts for such guns without a background check using tools such as 3D printers.

New Kensington police have seen only a couple of ghost guns in the city, police Chief Bob Deringer said.

“They are rare,” he said. “I feel they are a big problem because they can’t be tracked or traced.”

In Sunday night’s incident, officers went to the 1000 block of Leishman Avenue about 11:30 p.m., where a caller had reported that a man fired shots in a backyard along McCargo Street and fled in a white SUV.

Another officer stopped a white Jeep Cherokee on Leishman Avenue, but the driver ran from the vehicle, police said.

An officer spotted Allen in the 1500 block of Leishman and chased him on foot.

The officer said he saw Allen throw away a gun before surrendering in a backyard on Leishman Avenue, the complaint said.

Allen briefly resisted arrest, police said, but was taken into custody.

Police said the gun Allen is alleged to have discarded had a bullet in its chamber and seven in a magazine.

Allen was carrying two pouches of marijuana, police said.

Police charged Allen with carrying a firearm without a license, escape, resisting arrest, and possession of marijuana. He was arraigned Monday before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. and jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Allen’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 before Pallone.