Teen and grandfather arrested for running ghost gun workshop from garden shed

Clayton Hobby, 18, told police ‘guns are cool’ after he and his grandfather Kerry Schunk, 64, were arrested over the stash of ghost gun AR-15 rifles at their home

A teenager and his grandfather have been arrested for running a ghost gun operation out of the shed in their backyard, after police uncovered a stash of ghost gun AR-15 rifles including one that had been modified into a machine gun.

Clayton Hobby, 18, and Kerry Schunk, 64, were slapped with a string of firearm charges over the trove of illegal weapons, which the grandfather and grandson duo claimed they built to protect their own family.

Police in East Hampton, Connecticut, said the pair had multiple ghost gun AR-15 rifles in various stages of assembly inside their makeshift workshop, as well as three ghost gun polymer handguns, 15 high capacity magazines and around 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

A book by neo-Nazi Klay Claxton, a bulletproof vest decorated with police badges, a book on manufacturing poison, and other gun parts and tools were also found in Mr Hobby’s bedroom at the property.

Mr Hobby, who said he thinks “guns are cool”, sought to take the blame for the entire operation, telling police: “Everything is mine. My grandfather had nothing to do with it.”

The net closed in on the illegal operation when police were tipped off on Monday by a local resident who said they had heard that an adult resident in town was manufacturing illegal AR-15 assault rifles.

Officers identified Mr Hobby as the suspect before learning, over the course of the investigation, that he was being also being aided in the ghost gun workshop by his grandfather, according to East Hampton Police.

In a bizarre twist, after officers had received the tip, Mr Schunk walked into the local police station saying he wanted to ask questions about “the legalities of building an AR-15”, reported Middletown Press.

Clayton Hobby, 18, told officers that he thinks 'guns are cool’ (East Hampton Police)

The grandfather told officers he wanted to build one with his grandson.

The 64-year-old allegedly told police that his grandson had receieved an AR-15 in the mail without a serial number so they “smashed it apart with a hammer and threw it away” and hadn’t received any other guns or gun parts since.

When he was asked to provide a statement, Mr Schunk allegedly quickly left the police station.

Officers followed him to his home and asked if he had an illegal firearm, police said.

At that point, Mr Schunk called his grandson to come out of the house who told police “everything” was his.

Investigators then uncovered the arsenal of weapons.

Kerry Schunk, 64, said he doesn’t think his grandson had ‘evil intentions' (East Hampton Police)

Under questioning, Mr Hobby confessed to buying the weapons and tools online and told officers he thinks “guns are cool” and that gun laws are “tyrannical”, police said.

The 18-year-old, who admitted he is sometimes “paranoid”, insisted that he didn’t have plans to hurt anyone but just wanted to protect his family, police said.

Police said that Mr Schunk said he didn’t think his grandson had “evil intentions”. He also admitted that he had made up the story about smashing up an AR-15.

Mr Hobby was charged with three counts of possession of an assault weapon, three counts of criminal possession of a pistol, one count of criminal possession of ammunition, one count of manufacture of a machine gun, 15 Counts of possession of high capacity magazines and one count of risk of injury.

Mr Schunk was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit possession of an assault weapon,  three counts of conspiracy to commit criminal possession of a pistol, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal possession of ammunition, one count of conspiracy to commit manufacture of a machine gun, 15 counts of conspiracy to commit possession of high capacity magazines and one count of interfering with an officer.

Part of the stash of ghost guns and ammunition found at the makeshift workshop (East Hampton Police)

Mr Hobby is being held on $250,000 bond while Mr Schunk is held on $100,000 bond.

The discovery comes one month after President Joe Biden vowed to crack down on ghost guns across America amid a rise in mass shootings and gun violence.

Ghost guns are guns that are typically purchased as kits and assembled at home, taking as little as 30 minutes to put together.

They do not have serial numbers, making them difficult to trace and track ownership.