Local, federal agencies working to get machine gun switches off the streets
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is focused on getting illegal guns off the streets, especially those with machine gun conversion devices, which are commonly called "switches."
WCCO's Reg Chapman got a look at the deadly power these altered guns have, and the plea from special agents to get people to stop using them.
It's a sound many in the Twin Cities have become familiar with: a gun altered to fire automatically. Three small pieces make up the machine gun conversion device.
ATF Special Agent Pete Vulovich is a firearms expert and finds it a challenge to fire the altered weapon.
"I had to be on my knees with that thing," he said. "It fires very quickly and the recoil on it - you have to manage really good because it rises super quick."
Vulovich says these the guns are unpredictable and dangerous
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"They are not safe for the people who are on the street that are getting these firearms fired at them, they are not safe for the people who are using the firearms," said ATF Special Agent in Charge William McCrary.
The ATF is actively working to disrupt the supply chain of conversion devices. They believe there are fewer out there on the street than before.
"About mid-August we had done an undercover operation and arrested someone we thought was probably one of the most prolific suppliers, so activation of shot spotter for automatic gunfire in Minneapolis dropped to very small," said McCrary.
There is only 0.2 seconds between shots fired from an altered weapon.
"If you want to put that into military terms, your average infantry squad in the army or marine corp does not carry a weapon that fires that quick," said Vulovich.
That's why local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to get them out of the hands of people who would use them. They say today's victim could be tomorrow's shooter.
Law enforcement wants to help those stuck in the middle of this shooting cycle.
"We are making the appeal: If you have one of these please stop," said McCrary.
ATF says it still has lots of work to do in order to get these illegal guns off the street. They hope people who may be stuck in the cycle of shooting reach out to law enforcement for help getting out.
