How ‘instant machine guns’ are landing on Georgia streets

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Police are finding so many shell casings at some shooting scenes, they’re running out of evidence markers. Some departments are resorting to paper cups.

The rapid spread of inexpensive gun switches is turning ordinary semi-automatic pistols into full-auto machine guns. With a single pull of the trigger, a 15- or 30-round magazine can be emptied in under two seconds.

Machine guns have been heavily regulated for decades. Possession of even parts to convert a gun to full auto requires a license from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Without that ATF license, possession is a federal offense punishable by a decade in prison.

That hasn’t stopped the proliferation of gun switches.

Police are finding them on guns when arresting suspects. Sometimes, officers are facing automatic weapon fire when serving warrants. A Houston, Texas, officer was killed in 2021 when machine gun fire came through the door before officers ever saw the gunman.

3D printing at home

Gun switches are tiny attachments that replace existing parts in a semi-automatic handgun. Officially known as an “auto sear,” the device prevents the firing mechanism from locking back after the first shot is fired.

By holding down the trigger, a shooter is able to empty the magazine as fast as the weapon can cycle.

Some auto sears are metal switches that slide into place without tools. They’re called switches because they allow the shooter to select between single shot and rapid fire by pushing a button.

Others are plastic pieces made on a 3D printer at home. Plans are available freely on the internet. Police have found bags of 3D-printed auto sears on suspects arrested in Atlanta and across the nation.

“If your goal is to sell these, you can flood the street market as much as you want to,” said ATF Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Gibbons.

ATF agents showed Atlanta News First Investigates how easy it is to 3D print auto sears in the Atlanta field office. Agents printed a slightly-enlarged example so it could not be installed in an actual weapon.

The 3D-printed devices can be placed inside a semi-automatic rifle to make it fire fully-automatic.

Gibbons was once a field agent who made undercover buys of illegal weapons on the street. Asked how to stop these devices when they can be printed at home, Gibbons said, “that’s the million dollar question.”

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The ATF has been spreading the word to the public that these devices are illegal. Some hobbyists are using them for fun at the range, according to an Atlanta News First Investigates review of videos posted to social media.

ATF agents are also hosting training sessions for police officers and prosecutors so they know how to spot gun switches in the field.

Chicago lawsuit

The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit last week against Smyrna-based gun manufacturer Glock. The lawsuit claims Chicago Police Department has recovered more than 1,100 modified Glocks converted to fire full-automatic since 2021.

“Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly, so we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock able for putting profits over public safety,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The lawsuit opens with a reference to the Tommy gun used by Chicago gangsters a century ago, comparing the weapon with the fully-automatic Glocks found on shooting scenes in the city in the modern era.

Chicago is seeking a court order to ban the sale of Glocks to civilians unless and until the company makes the guns more difficult to modify with so-called Glock switches made by others.

Atlanta News First Investigates has reached out to Glock for a response.

Federal offense but no state law

Atlanta Police provided Atlanta News First Investigates with incident reports mentioning gun switches that officers found on suspects during arrests. The department has also posted body camera recordings showing officers encountering fully-automatic weapons on the street.

“That’s a federal crime, sergeant,” an officer can be heard on one recording. His sergeant responded, “Oh my goodness! A switch! Jackpot!”

In a recent Atlanta incident, a suspect’s gun went off during a struggle with an officer over the weapon. According to the body camera recording of the February incident, the handgun equipped with a switch jammed in the mud, preventing it from loading another round.

Local police can arrest suspects on federal charges, but that part of the case is then prosecuted by the US Attorney’s office instead of the county district attorney.

“They’ve been on the street for a while,” said state Rep. Sandra Scott (D-Rex). Scott filed House Bill 555 to ban gun switches in Georgia with a five year penalty in state prison.

Scott’s cousin, Brandon Harris, was killed during a Forest Park shooting in January. Harris, 43, was working as a tax preparer. Police say the intended target was Harris’ customer who was targeted by her ex-boyfriend.

While there was not a gun switch involved, Harris was killed by stray gunfire; he was not the intended target.

Just days later, Scott addressed the Georgia House of Representatives on the first day of this year’s legislative session.

“It was his son’s birthday,” Scott said of Harris and one of his four children. “He thought his daddy was coming home to celebrate, but his daddy ended up in the morgue.”

Scott asked her fellow lawmakers to take on the issue of gun violence, saying, “it happened to my family on Friday. It could happen to yours tomorrow.” Her bill has not made it out of committee.

“Every year that I’m here, I will be filing this legislation. And one day, one day it will go through,” she said.

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