California AG: 54 Ghost Guns Seized in Unique State Program

California Attorney General Rob Bonta discusses the seizure of 114 guns during a five-day sweep across the Los Angeles area during a news conference held at the California Department of Justice's Office in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2022. Eric Licas/The Orange County Register via AP

LOS ANGELES—California law enforcement took away 54 so-called ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms, a 38 percent jump in the number of the hard-to-trace weapons seized since 2021 under a unique state program, officials said Monday.

The ghost guns, which are privately made firearms without a serial number, were part of nearly 1,500 guns taken statewide last year through an only-in-California program called the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, known as APPS.