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‘A very big challenge for us’: ATF Columbus details efforts to get a dangerous device off the streets

These devices are often called Glock switches and are capable of firing 30 bullets in two seconds. They are easy to get and tough to track.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In his time working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Daryl McCormick said this is likely one of the biggest threats to public safety he’s seen.

McCormick is the Special Agent in Charge of the Columbus Field Division of ATF. He said Glock switches, or machine gun converters, are easy to purchase online and tough to track. Many of them come from overseas.

“It's a very big challenge for us,” he said.

The dangerous devices are capable of firing 30 bullets in two seconds. They are often made of plastic and can be made with a 3D printer. They’ve been on ATF’s radar for the last four years -- but it's become a bigger problem across the country and here in Columbus in the last few months.

The devices are being used more often- and here's how they know:

“From acoustic detection devices, we know there's a lot of shots fired in a short amount of time,” McCormick said.

Twenty-six of these devices have been found in Columbus so far this year, according to Columbus police.

McCormick said he is concerned there are “many more out there.”

Crime Stoppers recently released surveillance video of a shooting from back on March 4 in the 3400 block of Sullivant Avenue. Columbus police say a Glock switch was used in the shooting that injured three people. All victims survived but the search for the suspects, and the gun, continues.

To get these guns off the streets, McCormick said they are utilizing a crime gun enforcement team that includes several task officers from Columbus police. They work to investigate the source of the conversion devices.

“Most of our investigations, a lot of them anyway, start with a shooting incident where we know the device was used. And then we investigate backward to who was involved in those and then where their source of firearms are and where the source is,” he said. “Finding the source of these machine gun conversion devices is one of our top priorities.”

McCormick says a Columbus Crime Gun Intelligence Center will be another resource to tackle this problem -- you may remember that was announced late last year -- they are closer now to getting that up and running.

To report someone in possession of this device, or anyone who is making or selling them, call the ATF tip line at 1-888-ATF-TIPS.

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