For as little as 40 cents, handguns can be transformed into machine guns using 3D printers.
A small switch that can be easily 3D-printed can transform a handgun into a fully automatic weapon, according to federal officials.
Federal authorities claim that a small, affordable gadget called a "Glock switch" or "machine gun conversion device" enables criminals to transform a handgun into a machine gun and fire 30 or more rounds in a matter of seconds.
The ATF is warning about the dangers of these affordable and easily printable devices.
Officials from the DOJ and ATF recently met with gun manufacturers, academics, and law enforcement to address the production of Glock switch conversion devices, which have been involved in high-profile cases, including one in Alabama where investigators found a Glock switch at the scene of a shooting at a Sweet 16 party that left four dead.
Journalists were shown by ATF officials how these machine gun devices, which are made illegally, can cause devastating damage at Planet Chronicle' National Service Center in West Virginia.
The majority of illegal weapons recovered in trafficking cases are Glock conversion devices that enable five rounds to become 50 with a single click, according to ATF officials.
Local law enforcement recovered a 570% increase in conversion devices in the decade leading up to 2021, according to an ATF report.
The ATF and other DOJ officials will intensify their efforts to find machine gun conversion devices and train local law enforcement on how to identify them.
According to ATF Director Steve Dettlebach, law enforcement often struggles to identify machine gun conversion devices during searches because they do not resemble traditional Tommy guns.
The Justice Department advises against using or even considering the use of conversion devices, as seen in the recent incident at a sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama in April 2023, where four people were killed and 32 were injured.
Being in possession of MCDs is illegal, as well as selling and using MCDs, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Federal law prohibits the use of contraptions, which can result in imprisonment of up to ten years.
Planet Chronicle' Max Bacall contributed to this report.
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