NPR – According to a new federal report, illegal machine gun converters are becoming more prevalent in the U.S. The report – National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Crime Guns – Volume Two from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) documents new data and trends in the use of guns by criminals between 2017 and 2021.

• Illegal machine gun conversion devices, typically called switches, have been recovered more frequently by ATF.
• 5,454 switches were recovered between 2017 and 2021, up from 814 between 2012 and 2016.
• Switches are “more readily available and accessible than they’ve ever been,” said James Densley, a sociologist at the Violence project, a group that studies gun violence.
• Ghost guns, which are made of pre-made parts or through 3D printers, are being used more frequently by criminals.
• The number of ghost guns confiscated by law enforcement annually increased by 1,083% between 2017 and 2021.
• More than one million firearms were stolen from private citizens between 2017 and 2021, the report says.
• A study found that 80% of mass shooters at K-12 schools in recent decades stole guns from family members…”