Operation Texas Kill Switch Targets Illegal Machine Gun Conversion Devices | News

DALLAS, TX — U.S. Attorneys in Texas have launched “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide initiative to combat illegal machine gun conversion devices known as “switches.”

In simultaneous press conferences, U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs and Jaime Esparza, along with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agents Jeffrey Boshek and Michael Weddel, condemned devices that turn firearms into fully automatic weapons. “We’re here to talk about a one-inch piece of plastic. It seems harmless enough, kind of like a Lego or a K’nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” he said. said the US Attorney. Leigha Simonton. “We cannot turn our streets into war zones. We cannot – and we will not – allow switches to proliferate across North Texas.”

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II added, “I’ve been in this business a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flow of machine gun conversion devices onto the streets of Texas and beyond. »

The switches, which can be made of metal or plastic and printed on 3D printers, allow guns to fire dozens of rounds with a single trigger pull. The nation’s firearms law classifies these devices as machine guns, making their possession largely illegal. Even so, the number of switches seized by Texas-based ATF agents has increased, with 991 confiscated between 2017 and 2023, half of which were seized last year alone.

As part of the initiative, local Crime Stopper programs will offer cash rewards for information leading to the arrest or prosecution of people who possess switches or the 3D printers used to make them. Tips can be submitted anonymously to local Crime Stoppers programs or directly to the ATF.

U.S. prosecutors urged local law enforcement to participate in the crackdown to prevent further violence and ensure public safety.