Crime stopper program to give cash for tips on illegal firearms in Texas

U.S. Attorneys across Texas are uniting in an initiative to combat fully automatic weapons.

Called Operation Texas Kill Switch, it's a program that targets "switches," which are illegal devices that, when added to a regular legal machine gun, turn them into automatic weapons that can fire faster than a military weapon.

U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs, and Jaime Esparza are joined by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, represented by Special Agents in Charge Jeffrey Boshek and Michael Weddel in a campaign against the devices, which transform commercially available firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade M4s.

“We’re here to talk about a roughly one-inch piece of plastic. It looks innocuous enough, a little like a lego or a k’nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton at a press conference. “Machinegun conversion devices can turn Second Amendment-protected firearms into illegal weapons of war, and petty criminals into brutal killers. We cannot have our streets turned into war zones. We cannot – and we will not – allow switches to proliferate in north Texas.”

Switches are about an inch long, can be made of metal or plastic; and can be printed on commercially available 3D printers.

They slot into the butt of a gun and allow the shooter to fire “full auto,” unloading dozens of rounds with a single pull of the trigger. (In contrast, regular semi-automatic firearms require a separate trigger pull for each round fired.)

Except in very limited circumstances, possession of a switch is illegal, as the National Firearms Act classifies the switch itself as a machinegun.

According to a release, switches have been used in numerous fatal shootings, including at least one juvenile mass shooting and multiple police killings.

The number of switches recovered by law enforcement has risen dramatically in the past few years. Between 2017 and 2023, Texas-based ATF agents seized 991 switches; 490 of those, 50 percent, were seized just last year. They are often sold over social media, marketed to adults and juveniles alike.

ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II praised the U.S. Attorney's willingness to "aggressively prosecute these criminals and gangsters."

“I have been in this business for a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flood of machine gun conversion devices on the streets of Texas and beyond," Boshek said. "Rest assured that ATF and its partners are doing everything we can to stop the flow of these things and to prevent the carnage they can create.”

As part of Operation Texas Kill Switch, the U.S. Attorneys are partnering with Crime Stopper programs statewide to combat the proliferation of these illegal devices.

Through August 31, local Crime Stopper programs will offer cash rewards for information leading to the apprehension or prosecution of those who possess switches or 3D printers being used to manufacture them. To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to their local Crime Stoppers program.

Tipsters may also use **TIPS to be connected to a Crime Stoppers program in their area. Tips can be submitted 24 hours a day, and anonymity is guaranteed by law. Information may also be submitted directly to ATF at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips.

U.S. Attorneys Simonton, Esparza, Diggs, and Hamdani also urged local law enforcement to partner with the feds on switch cases, which carry maximum sentences of up to 10 years in the federal system..