Baltimore sues Glock over pistols turned machine guns

Its referred to as a Glock switch, which can turn a handgun with a 15-round magazine into much, much more. A dime-sized device that turns a handgun into a weapon capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute, explained Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, That's faster than the weapons of war that I used in the Army. ATF agents call it spray and pray.

Here in Baltimore, officers seized 100 modified Glocks off of the streets in the last two years, including one fired at police near Patterson Park 20 months ago. A total of 33 shell casings were found from the suspect's weapon, said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley, In my 27 years, I've never seen so many rounds recovered and heard so many rounds fired on our devices like ShotSpotter.

Pistols produced by the Austrian-owned Glock are the only ones which can be transformed with such a switch, and it is now a target for legal action from the city and the Maryland Attorney General to stop the sale of its handguns. The city is seeking an injunction as well as abatement, restitution, and disgorgement of profits to halt the spread of easily-modifiable handguns until Glock alters their design, said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

Last year, the city received a $1.2 million settlement with Polymer 80-the leading manufacturer of ghost gun kits in the United States. The hope is that Glock will be banned from selling its handguns in Maryland until it makes it impossible for criminals to turn them into something exponentially more dangerous than they were intended.