Would a story about someone threatening to use a 3D-printed gun to commit a mass murder make national news?
It didn't. On Aug. 8, Austin James David West was arrested after allegedly saying he was going to commit a shooting "people would be talking about." West allegedly said he was going to commit a mass murder at Broadview University, a small school in the Salt Lake area.
While West allegedly made the threat Aug. 7, the item didn't even make the news for weeks, not until a search warrant affidavit was unsealed this past Tuesday in the 3rd District Court.
The comments beneath the Aug. 28 online story in the Deseret News open up with a commenter posting under the name, The Pug Life - Lindon, UT, noting a gun printed on a 3D printer would not be capable of mass murder, as it would fall apart after a shot or two. The Pug Life said you cannot even print a working gun with a traditional office printer. "That would be like printing a portrait-quality photo for your wall using your office laserjet printer," The Puglife said.
While a 3D-printed gun, then, might not be capable of being used in a mass shooting, the question remains as to why the incident was not reported to the media until the search warrant affidavit was unsealed this Tuesday. Why was the affidavit sealed, in the first place?
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