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IMPD officers finding handguns being turned into 'machine guns'

Under federal law and Indiana law, a Glock switch would classify a gun as a machine gun and make it illegal.

INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD officers continue to come across handguns modified to be "machine guns."

An IMPD officer and his recruit were working on the northwest side and made a traffic stop. During that stop, officers from a handgun with a Glock switch on it. 

The switch makes the gun capable of fully automatic fire. Under federal law and Indiana law, that would classify the gun as a machine gun and make it illegal. The federal punishment includes up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

IMPD Captain Brady Ball told 13News, officers began seeing the device about two years ago but are running across them more often.

RELATED: Police: More people are turning handguns into 'machine guns'

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.

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