Is a Glock switch illegal? Law enforcement trying to crack down on deadly gun attachment

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Within seconds of adding a small device to a pistol, a gun goes from shooting one bullet at a time to firing off 1,200 bullets per minute.

"It's bad because they pose a significant threat to law enforcement and the general public," said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Marlin Ford.

It's called a Glock switch. It turns your average pistol into a machine gun.

"It's something you can make in your house, on your computer. It's not something made with craftsmanship which makes guns break down, as you can see, making them more dangerous," said Hillar Moore, district attorney in East Baton Rouge Parish.

But it's not just pistols being altered. Semi-automatic rifles are also becoming more dangerous with a similar device. The modified gun makes it much harder to control, becoming a threat to everyone around it.

"I know of no valid reason anybody would want one of these devices on the end of their weapon -- in their weapon -- other than to do harm and destruction and to kill someone," Moore said.

Dozens have been taken off of the streets in Baton Rouge, where more and more young people are using them, hoping to hit their intended target, WBRZ reported.

"Often times, about 10 or so, are being held by juveniles, which again makes it more dangerous," Moore said.

Moore said state laws don't count the modified guns as a machine guns, which carry greater penalties. In order to charge someone with possession of a fully automatic machine gun, they have to come to a special range to prove it. Now, Moore's office is working with state lawmakers to redefine what a machine gun is.

He also noted that anyone who is charged with possession of a machine gun can leave jail, buy a new pistol and convert their already deadly weapon into something more dangerous.

"That's another statute that we will ask the legislature to take a look at and change. Because we surely don't want people possessing these weapons to have the ability to possess it again, or another kind of weapon for that matter at all," Moore said.