Baltimore is suing gunmaker Glock over design features that allow its handguns to be easily modified to become fully automatic weapons, which enables criminals to inflict more damage and makes the city more dangerous, attorneys argue in a complaint filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit follows similar cases brought against Glock in Chicago, Minnesota and New Jersey. They accuse the company of failing to protect the public by selling firearms that can be adapted to fully automatic with dime-sized switches, ABC reports.
“ATF agents call it ‘spray and pray’ because once the trigger is pulled, there’s no control — only carnage,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said during a news conference Wednesday morning announcing the lawsuit.
The state of Maryland joined the city of Baltimore as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Often referred to as Glock switches or auto sears, the conversion devices can be bought for about $20 or 3D-printed. They’ve received heightened attention in recent years because they’re increasingly turning up at crime scenes.
“Glock could have designed its pistols to prevent auto sears from working. They chose not to. That choice cost lives,” Brown said.
Glock didn’t respond to a Wednesday email seeking comment, ABC says.
