Brockton Man Arrested With Handgun Altered to be Fully Automatic

New Bedford, MA — An 18-year-old Brockton man has been arrested with an illegal firearm in the City.

This week, Det. Jonathan Miranda received information concerning the suspect, Mr. SZANDOR O’MALLEY, being in possession of a pistol. Photographs posted on Snapchat depicted O’MALLEY posing with this pistol twice since the beginning of the year.

On March 12th, at around 10 p.m., O’MALLEY was observed to be a passenger in a vehicle traveling in the west-end sector. The vehicle was subsequently stopped in the area of the County St./Bedford St. intersection. O’MALLEY was removed from the vehicle, searched, and subsequently discovered to have the handgun in his waistband.

The 9mm pistol was a Polymer 80 that was loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition. A light was affixed to it, as was an “auto sear switch.” A sear switch is a means by which a semi-automatic firearm is converted to fully automatic, making it capable of emptying an entire magazine of bullets with a single trigger pull. Nationally, law enforcement officers have seized an increasing number of guns outfitted with auto sears. Their expanded availability can be attributed to 3D printers and Chinese manufacturers selling them illicitly online (Stephens & Hamilton, 2022).

O’MALLEY was taken into custody. He is charged with carrying and possession of a loaded machine gun without a license.

If you have any information you would like to share with the police, you can do so anonymously by visiting our website and submitting a tip, or by calling 508-99-CRIME.

Stephens, A., & Hamilton, K. (2022a, March 24). The return of the machine gun. The Trace. https://www.thetrace.org/2022/03/auto-sear-gun-chip-glock-switch-automatic-conversion/