Baltimore is suing Glock over design features that allow its handguns to be easily modified to become fully automatic weapons.

The lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court is intended to help reduce gun violence on the streets, and is the first test of Maryland's Gun Industry Accountability Act adopted last year. Authorities said owners of Glock semiautomatic pistols can easily install "auto sears,

It’s referred to as a “Glock switch,” which can turn a handgun with a 15-round magazine into much, much more. “A dime-sized device that turns a handgun [into] a weapon capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute,

Baltimore officials have filed a lawsuit against firearms manufacturer Glock, demanding that the Austrian-owned company do more to prevent its weapons from being turned into machine guns. The effort targets Glock for selling semiautomatic pistols to Maryland civilians that can easily be converted into illegal weapons with an auto sear — a small device more commonly known as a

The auto sear, or “Glock switch,” converts a handgun into a weapon that fires 120 rounds a minute. The lawsuit wants Glock to reject such a capabiliity.

Maryland and Baltimore officials announced a lawsuit that alleges Glock makes and sells guns that are easily turned into illegal machine guns.