attorney general Matt platkin says the state has a new way to combat gun violence today announcing the first of two lawsuits being brought under a law allowing New Jersey to sue gun companies under public nuisance regulations the suit targets a store in Mars County over quote Reckless gun storage and another location in Pennsylvania for selling ghost guns that ended up in the Garden State senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports New Jersey newest legal broadside and its battle over gun control targets a moris county firearm shop for allegedly creating a public nuisance the civil suit charges FSS Armory of Pine Brook posted website photos showing Firearms illegally stacked by a window which attracted thieves who broke in and easily stole unsecured weapons later used to commit crimes according to the attorney general today we say enough and we're putting everyone else in the gun industry on notice if you break our laws we're coming for you the days of allowing you to profit unlawfully off of violence in our communities are over period the suit alleges a gang searching online for gun stores in New Jersey found FSS Armory drove there broke the glass window reached through and stole 20 guns the burglars promptly trafficed the guns some have since been recovered in criminal investigations others have been used in crimes or recovered at active crime scenes most remain unaccounted for selling Firearms is a serious business and the gun industry in New Jersey is regulated carefully for good reason when industry members fail to behave responsibly the consequences are dire a second lawsuit over ghost guns charges they're aggressively advertised in New Jersey where they're illegal by companies operating in Pennsylvania it alleges Eagle shows and jsd supply market and sell to New Jersey residents parts to make untraceable ghost guns without checking their purchasers residency age felony status or qualifications to purchase or possess a firearm and without filtering out traffickers making multiple purchases unsurprisingly New Jersey Law Enforcement have arrested numerous individuals in possession of significant numbers of ghost guns purchased at Eagle gun shows and ghost guns that appear to have Js frames have been recovered in multiple crimes platen said the number of ghost guns recovered from crime scenes in 2022 was 400% higher than two years prior both complaints were brought by the Attorney General's new Statewide affirmative Firearms enforcement or safe office created last year to enforce the controversial public nuisance law the public nuisance lawsuits offer novel legal leverage using robust civil enforcement tools to hold accountable those who break our laws and place profits ahead of Public Safety we look at every case from every angle and when we can make criminal cases we do and we use civil enforcement tools to hold accountable Those whom we can't make criminal cases against for whatever reason FSS Armory had no comment the owner of Eagle shows and jsd Supply which has also been sued by the feds over ghost gun sales could not be reached for comment but gun rights groups have criticized the public news law and other measures Governor Murphy signed calling them harrassment of an already strictly regulated Firearms industry in the state in fact the National Shooting Sports Foundation has already promised a court challenge the moment New Jersey filed public nuisance lawsuits in the end the courts will call the shots I'm Brenda Flansgan NJ Spotlight News