SPRINGFIELD — Two students are facing charges for bringing guns to a school in Springfield, one of which had a small device on it that turned it into an illegal machine gun.
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Last week, Springfield Police were called to Opportunities Industry Center (OIC), an alternative education center in Springfield, after staff found a gun with a loaded magazine. When police got there, the confiscated two guns, one of which had an illegal “Glock switch” on it, according to Clark County Municipal Court records.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, a gun illegally outfitted with a “Glock switch,” like the one 18-year-olds Parker Hall and Tavion Compton had inside OIC, acts and sounds like a machine gun.
“I actually called the sergeant that test fired this gun. It was an operation switch. It emptied the magazine, which I think was 19 bullets, in about a second to a second and a quarter,” Aaron Heskett, Clark County Assistant Prosecutor, said.
Police said they found a handgun without a switch in Hall’s backpack and then a second one with a switch in Hall’s pants leg. In court documents, police said Hall claimed when he was in the bathroom, he refused when Compton asked him to hold the gun with the switch but then said Compton stuffed that gun “down the front of his pants.”
Prosecutors approved charges against Hall and Compton, including charges in connection with possessing the gun with the switch.
Heskett said there was no indication there was any attack planned, or a target, but talked to News Center 7 about what makes switches so dangerous.
“You just can’t control that in any way, shape, or fashion,” he said. “That gun starts to raise up and sprays all over the place.”
Prosecutors said they’ll let the U.S. Attorney’s Office know about the case, like they do every time they have a case with a switch involved.
News Center 7 reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office about the case and if the office would pursue federal charges. We received the following statement from U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker:
“While we are not able to provide any details on specific investigations, we take seriously any matters that involve glock switches. We will work with our local and state counterparts to determine the most appropriate venues for prosecution based on the particular facts of the case. Ultimately, every individual who chooses to possess one of these dangerous items should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, whether that is in federal or state court.”
News Center 7 also reached out again to OIC about the incident. In a statement, they confirmed an incident at the school but said they could not comment at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
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