Devices that make Glocks fully automatic found weekly in Cincinnati, police say

Small devices that make handguns spray fully-automatic fire are being found weekly in Cincinnati, police say. The proliferation of the devices has caught the attention of federal law enforcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive demonstrated the illegal accessory, often called a Glock switch or auto sear, at the Great Oaks firing range in Sharonville on Wednesday.

ATF special agent Nicholas Radebaugh sprayed a target with 31 rounds in under two seconds using the device. He is a military veteran and said a Glock equipped with this device is the fastest thing he has ever shot.

Also called a switch, chip or auto sear, these illegal parts can be installed on some firearms in just minutes and made on nearly any 3D printer. Once installed, the gun will fire in fully automatic mode. A semiautomatic handgun fires one round per trigger press, while these weapons will fire rapidly until the user lets go of the trigger or the gun runs out of ammunition.

This spray of gunfire makes shootings more lethal and more dangerous to bystanders, said Daryl McCormick, an ATF special agent-in-charge. He said the lightweight handgun quickly becomes uncontrollable, especially when fired with one hand or while running or moving around.

Kenneth Parker, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said the devices are only becoming more common and it has become a top priority to prosecute cases involving them.

"If you have a gun with a switch, we will charge you with a federal crime," Parker said.

Here's what we know about Glock switches.

Local prosecutions underway

Parker said there are three cases involving the devices in Cincinnati, and if convicted the suspects could face up to 10 years in prison.

Last year, Gionni Dews, who worked at the Oakley IHOP, was sentenced to three years in prison for possessing a modified Glock 19.

Dews, 23, had walked away from his job after a fight with a co-worker when someone started shooting at him, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

Dews was shot in the leg and then pulled out his modified Glock 19, a 9 mm handgun, and sprayed 20 rounds back at his assailant, prosecutors said. Parker said Dews fired in self-defense but still broke the law.

Turning regular handguns into machine guns

McCormick said the devices violate the National Firearms Act and are classified as "machine gun conversion devices." He said, "this has been the law of the land for almost 90 years."

He called the situation a "disturbing trend," and said the devices are made overseas and illegally imported into the U.S., but they are increasingly finding ones that are 3D-printed within the country. That means they can be made almost anywhere and the files needed to make them can be easily shared over the internet.

McCormick said the ATF is exploring avenues through civil litigation to try to limit the sharing of these files, but he said the agency is mostly focused on those who possess and use them. Locally, the ATF is partnered with Homeland Security and the Cincinnati Police Department through the Gun Crime Intelligence Center.

It's a national issue

There have been reports in several other cities documenting more Glock switches on the streets. While the devices are illegally made for other weapons as well, the Glock version is by far the most common, McCormick said.

Some of the imported devices go as far as to engrave the Glock logo on the part making it look more legitimate.

The Trace, a nonprofit news organization focused on gun violence, reported in March on the increased use of these devices, which can cost as little as $20. From 2017 to 2021, the number of cases in the country jumped from 10 to 83, the organization said.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that 120 of the devices have been confiscated in that city in the first nine months of 2022, compared to about a dozen the year before and none in 2020.

Police finding devices weekly in Cincinnati

Crime Gun Intelligence Center commander Lt. Eric Vogelpohl said his officers are recovering them on weekly basis in Cincinnati.

Vogelpohl would not say if the devices had been connected to any homicides in the area. Citing pending investigations, he would also not say how many shootings the devices have been connected to or if the devices were becoming popular with local gangs.

He did say that Cincinnati's ShotSpotter technology, which records gunfire through many parts of the city, has captured events that sound like machine gun fire and he suspects Glock switches were used.

"You can hear the difference," he said. "What we're worried about is not only the victims but the unintended victims."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Devices that make Glocks full-auto being found weekly in Cincinnati, police say