CeaseFirePA Education Fund today released a new video as part of its Deadly by Design: Facing the Truth About Gun Violence in PA storytelling project.
Najeer Lane was a consummate big brother, a leader who could make a whole room laugh. His life was taken in 2022 by someone he knew. Shalon Bukirk, of Fountain Hill, PA, Najeer’s mother, is sure he could have survived his shooting if the gun used had not been fitted with a machine gun conversion device, or Glock switch.
The gun used in his killing was described in detail by a retired FBI agent, an expert witness at the trial of one of Najeer’s murderers. The pistol was fitted with a machine gun conversion device. The size of a large sugar cube, made of metal or plastic, sometimes 3D printed, it takes 30 seconds to fit many handguns. For around $20, a switch, sometimes called an auto sear, converts a single-firing handgun into an automatic weapon capable of spraying 1,200 rounds in a minute, more than some military weapons.
While illegal at the federal level, only the ATF can prosecute crimes related to switches, and they are already stretched thin. Police and the ATF in Philadelphia are seeing a fivefold increase in switch confiscations from 2021 to 2024.
Watch the video here: https://www.deadlybydesign.org/video/najeer-lane/
Buskirk is calling for lawmakers to empower local law enforcement with a state-level prohibition so they can take action to remove these dangerous devices from circulation in our communities.
Adam Garber, CEO of CeaseFirePA Education Fund said: “Najeer’s tragic story should never have happened. Every day that machine gun converters are allowed to remain in our communities is a day we could lose another Najeer.
This is exactly why Pennsylvania needs to ban these deadly devices that multiply carnage. These devices make an already deadly weapon difficult to control and far more likely to injure or kill bystanders. There is no need for them in our society.”
Over 25 states, including Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, have banned these devices, and Pennsylvania should be next.
“By sharing Najeer’s story with Pennsylvania legislators, we can help save the lives that he and his family did not have the tools to,” said Garber. “This is about facing the truth: our system is designed to allow tragedies like Najeer’s to happen. But we have the power to change that system and save lives.”
The video is part of CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s ongoing Deadly by Design project, which features Pennsylvania gun violence survivors telling their own stories to educate Pennsylvanians and policymakers about how policy failures directly enable gun violence.
