What we know about the illegally converted firearm found at Coligny shooting scene
Four firearms were found in the aftermath of the Fourth of July shooting at Coligny Beach, and one of them was illegally converted to fully automatic fire.
Eight people were injured after gunfire erupted near Coligny beach access’s volleyball court around 8:21 p.m. Saturday, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said at a Sunday press conference.
One firearm deputies found on the scene was illegally modified with a machine gun conversion device (MCD), Tanner said Sunday. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has not released any additional details about the weapons as of Wednesday afternoon.
Before the July 4 shooting, the issue of machine guns was top-of-mind in October, following a mass shooting at Willie’s Bar and Grill, a now-closed establishment on St. Helena Island. Anferny Devon Freeman, the man who has been charged in the Willie’s shooting, was also charged with felony gun possession, according to previous Island Packet reporting.
At the time, Tanner did not elaborate on the weapons used in the Willie’s shooting, but he did say “switches,” or machine gun conversion devices, were becoming extremely popular and easier to access. Tanner said possession of a handgun converted to fully automatic using an MCD is classified as machine gun possession.
“No one should possess a machine gun,” the sheriff said at the time.
But what is an MCD, and how do people get them?
What are they?
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms describes MCDs as a part or parts that convert a firearm to fully automatic. The unaltered firearms fire semi-automatically, requiring the user to pull the trigger once for each shot. Fully automatic firearms fire continuously with a single trigger-pull.
MCDs are classified as machine guns under federal law, whether they’re installed on a firearm or not. They’re illegal to possess, sell or transfer, according to the bureau.
MCDs can be illegally made for both handguns and rifles. Handgun MCDs are sometimes called “switches,” according to the ATF, and they’re commonly used on Glock handguns. Glock handguns are used by many U.S. police departments including the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department. The switch is installed on a Glock handgun’s slide mechanism.
MCD’s are small and easy to install. Some are designed to be indistinguishable from a stock handgun part. They can increase the rate of fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute, and that rate of fire matches or surpasses military-grade machine guns, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
How are MCDs obtained?
The BCSO has 30 to 35 handgun-switch possession cases in process, Tanner said at the press conference about the Coligny shooting. And switches are not hard to get — they can be manufactured using 3D printers, according to the ATF.
3D printed switches are made from plastic, but metal ones are also sold illegally by firearms traffickers over the internet. Some traffickers of Glock switches forge Glock’s logo onto the device to make it appear official. Glock does not produce any MCDs for its handguns.
MCDs have been illegal under South Carolina law since 1990, according to previous Island Packet reporting. Fully automatic firearms manufactured on or before May 19, 1986, are legal to possess.