In Cincinnati, a passing car fired nearly 22 rounds at a group of children, killing eleven-year-old Domonic Davis, who had recently made his school's basketball team.
In a November shooting, four other children and a woman were injured, and Domonic was killed.
Issac Davis, Domonic's father, expressed disbelief and sorrow over the tragic incident, questioning how such a thing could happen to an 11-year-old so close to home.
The shooting is still being investigated. However, federal investigators suspect that the 22 shots were fired rapidly because the weapon had been illegally modified to function like a machine gun.
In recent years, communities across the US have experienced shootings carried out with firearms converted to fully automatic. This increase has been fueled by the rise of small components made with a 3D printer or purchased online. While laws against machine guns date back to Prohibition-era violence, the proliferation of devices like Glock switches, auto sears, and chips has enabled individuals to convert legal semi-automatic weapons into even more dangerous firearms, contributing to gun violence, according to police and federal authorities.
Steve Dettelbach, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), emphasized the significant problem of police officers facing fully automatic weapon fire, which has not been seen in the US since the days of Al Capone and the Tommy gun.
The agency reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, based on the most recent data available.
Conversion devices have been used in various mass shootings, including ones that resulted in fatalities at events such as a Sweet Sixteen party in Alabama and a bar district in Sacramento, California in 2022. Additionally, police officer William Jeffrey died in 2021 in Houston after being shot with a converted gun while serving a warrant. Cities like Indianapolis have been seizing these devices on a weekly basis.
The devices capable of converting legal semi-automatic weapons can be produced on a 3D printer in approximately 35 minutes or obtained online from overseas for less than $30. These devices are easy to install and modify the gun's mechanism, allowing a semi-automatic weapon with a conversion device to fire as soon as the trigger is pressed and continue firing until released or until the ammunition is depleted.
According to David Pucino, deputy chief counsel at Giffords Law Center, conversion devices are increasingly prevalent in street violence.
In a demonstration by ATF agents, the firing of a semi-automatic firearm equipped with a conversion device was nearly identical to that of an automatic weapon. Different designs of conversion devices can be used with various firearms, enabling them to fire at a rate of 800 or more bullets per minute, as stated by the ATF.
The ATF demonstrated that a semi-automatic equipped with a conversion device fired nearly identically to an automatic weapon. Conversion devices with different designs can be used with various guns, allowing them to fire at a rate of 800 or more bullets per minute.
Putting these devices into a firearm for a few seconds can turn the firearm into a machine gun right away, according to Dettelbach.
From 2012 to 2016, U.S. police departments found 814 conversion devices and sent them to the ATF. This number increased to over 5,400 between 2017 and 2021, as per the agency’s latest data.
In 2021, Minneapolis saw a rise in these devices, which led to a record-breaking level of gun violence, stated police Chief Brian O’Hara. These switches make a gun much harder to control and can cause accidental injuries due to the rapid bullet firing.
During firing, the weapon shakes, making it difficult for the shooter to control. This can lead to multiple victims being hit, including those in extremities, as explained by O’Hara.
Since the September 2022 arrest of a man charged with selling switches, which he had ordered from Russia and Taiwan or made himself, the city has seen a decrease in their use, as mentioned by O’Hara. However, he emphasized that it remains a significant problem with deep impacts on families, neighborhoods, and communities.
Although these devices are considered illegal machine guns under federal law, many states lack specific laws against them. In Indiana, they were found so frequently that the state amended the law to address switches.
Indianapolis police Chief Chris Bailey expressed the need to update machine gun laws to address current issues.
According to Giffords, only 15 states have their own laws against the possession, sale, or manufacture of automatic-fire weapons. Indiana was among the states with regulations but exceptions, and five states have no state-level machine gun regulations at all.
Before any prosecution, police must find the conversion devices. Dettelbach noted that these devices, often the size of a quarter, can easily go unnoticed after installation.
After attending an ATF training on conversion devices, a Texas police department discovered several weapons with previously undetected conversion devices in the evidence room, recalled Dettelbach.
Dettelbach commented that these items don't always appear as dangerous as they are. Some of them look like pieces of plastic and metal, making them hard to recognize when attached to a firearm because they blend in.
Davis said these devices are increasingly present online, in social media, and in rap lyrics. He described the trend as alarming and widely discussed.
Talking about his son's loss is a challenge for Davis. His son, Domonic, used to accompany him for a haircut at the barber shop where Issac Davis works. The shooting incident also occurred on a Friday, making the end of the week particularly difficult.
Davis plans to establish a foundation called For Every Eleven to combat gun violence and honor his son’s memory.
He expressed a desire to continue keeping his son's name alive and relevant, despite grieving in private.
