INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD said officers are finding more tiny devices lately that can turn a handgun into a fully automatic weapon.
"Under federal law and under the law here in Indiana, you've basically created a machine gun," said IMPD Captain Brady Ball.
Ball said officers began seeing the device, commonly referred to as a "Glock switch," about two years ago but are running across them more often.
An ATF spokesperson told 13News agents in Indianapolis are seeing more lately as well. And, it's the same story in other cities across the country including Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C.
"A handgun being pointed at you and fired is deadly, but imagine all 17 rounds of a magazine being shot at you at once," Ball said. "What are you supposed to do? What's a police officer supposed to do, let alone the general public?"
Tracking them down is part of the work of IMPD's Gun Violence Task Force. For nearly a year, detectives assigned to this team have been working full-time, hitting the streets, connecting shell casings to guns and then to the person who pulled the trigger.
Officers recently recovered a switch from an investigation of shots fired into a home on Indy's south side.
Ball said altering a gun like this is both a state and federal crime. The federal punishment includes up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.