The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against firearm manufacturer Glock on Wednesday, claiming the company is responsible for manufacturing pistols that can be easily modified into illegal fully automatic weapons.
The city said that Glock’s pistols are easily modified by “Glock switches,” turning the semi-automatic weapons into “machine guns.” Chicago Police have confiscated more than 1,100 modified Glocks at crime scenes since 2021, officials said.
“The City of Chicago is encountering a deadly new frontier in the gun violence plaguing our communities because of the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets,” Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said in a statement. “Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly, so we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock accountable for putting profits over public safety.”
The switch modifications, called auto sears, can cost as little as $20, are about a quarter in size and can be easily installed using just a screwdriver. The device increases a Glock’s rate of fire to about 1,200 round per minute, comparable to or even higher than illegal automatic weapons.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported a 400 percent increase in recoveries of illegally modified machine guns from 2020 to 2021 and a 570 percent increase in auto sears from 2017 to 2021 as compared to the previous five-year period.
The suit claims that Glock is endangering Chicagoans by not taking action against the illegal exploit of their firearm design.
“Glock’s willful decision to not take any meaningful action to address this problem in its sales to civilians — despite its awareness — is immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, and unreasonable,” the suit reads.
“Glock has made the business decision to continue profiting from the sales of its easily modifiable guns to the civilian market,” it continues. “The result endangers the health and safety of Chicagoans and increases and exacerbates the injuries and death from gun violence — draining the City’s public health, safety, investigative, and judicial resources and causing some City residents to fear using public streets, parks, schools, and transportation.”
The Hill has reached out to Glock for comment.
The first-of-its-kind lawsuit demands Glock stop selling its pistols in Chicago or change their design to prevent easy modification. It also demands monetary damages.
