- Tony Thompson is Black Hawk County sheriff.
- Brian Williams is Black Hawk County attorney.
On the morning of June 22, 2022, the Schmidt family of Cedar Falls was enjoying a family camping trip to Maquoketa Caves State Park. For reasons unknown, a lunatic with a gun entered their tent and killed Lula Schmidt, age 6, and her parents, Sarah and Tyler Schmidt. Somehow, 9-year-old Arlo Schmidt escaped physical harm.
Shortly after the rampage, the 23-year-old murderer used the gun to take his own life. According to media reports, the bullets fired on that horrific morning came from an untraceable ghost gun. This means the murder weapon was most likely a privately built firearm assembled from a gun kit purchased online or downloaded from a 3D printer. In all but eight states, ghost guns do not require a unique Federal Firearm License (FFL) serial number.
Prior to the availability of ghost guns, gun criminals would often go to great lengths to prevent being linked to their crime gun. But with easy access to ghost guns, they no longer need to worry. Violent gangsters, premeditated murderers, rampage killers, and so on, can fire away at their victims, drop the gun at the crime scene and make their escape.