---
title: "UK Student Convicted for 3D Printing Gun"
description: "A British student was just convicted today by London police of manufacturing a firearm using a 3D printer, according to Agence France-Presse."
date: "2019-06-19"
modified: "2019-06-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/uk-student-convicted-3d-printing-gun"
categories:
  - "3D Printing"
  - "Future Materials"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "3d printing"
  - "crime"
  - "guns"
  - "the digest"
---

# UK Student Convicted for 3D Printing Gun

![A British student was just convicted today by London police of manufacturing a firearm using a 3D printer, according to Agence France-Presse.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/uk-student-convicted-3d-printing-gun.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Shutterstock/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## First Conviction

A British student was convicted today by London police of manufacturing a firearm using a 3D printer, [according to *Agence France-Presse*](<https://phys.org/news/2019-06-uk-conviction-3d-gun.html>). Tendai Muswere, 26, pleaded guilty in a hearing, despite claiming the firearm was printed for a university film project — but without a licence to possess it.

"Muswere claimed that he was printing the firearms for a 'dystopian' university film project but he has not explained why he included the component parts necessary to make a lethal barrelled weapon," Detective Sergeant Jonathan Roberts, who led the investigation, told *AFP*. "This conviction, which I believe is the first of its kind relating to the use of a 3D printer to produce a firearm, has prevented a viable gun from getting into the hands of criminals."

## Getting Caught

The news comes after [*Wired* reported](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/3d-printed-guns-online-network>) last month that a global network of gun enthusiasts was using the internet to anonymously share the files needed to 3D-print firearms.

Muswere's home was originally searched in 2017. Police found evidence that he had not only been printing 3D gun parts, but he was also found to be growing marijuana plants — which is still illegal in the UK.

Muswere will receive his sentence in August.

**READ MORE:** [UK makes 'first' conviction over 3D printed gun](<https://phys.org/news/2019-06-uk-conviction-3d-gun.html>) \[*AFP*\]

**More on 3D printing guns:** *[Anonymous Group of 3D-Printed Gun Makers Is Spreading Online](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/3d-printed-guns-online-network>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)