Minnesota presses Glock suit, says redesign fails

Minnesota is pressing ahead with its civil lawsuit against gunmaker Glock, telling the court in a new filing that the company’s recently redesigned pistols still "fail to prevent quick and easy conversion" into illegal machine guns using so‑called Glock switches. Attorney General Keith Ellison’s case, filed in 2024, argues Glock’s design choices have helped fuel a surge in fully automatic gunfire on Minneapolis streets, highlighting the 2021 downtown killing of 21‑year‑old University of St. Thomas student Charlie Johnson, struck in the back by a stray round while out the night before graduation. Minneapolis gunshot‑detection data cited in the coverage show rounds fired in full‑auto bursts jumped from 154 in 2020 to more than 3,000 in 2022, with Police Chief Brian O’Hara warning that shooters often lose control of these converted weapons and hit unintended victims. Glock claims in its own filings that its new Model V reflects "extensive efforts" to thwart conversion devices, but Ellison’s office points to social‑media videos showing the latest models being switched to full auto within days of release as proof the changes are cosmetic at best. The case, one of several similar suits filed by states and big cities, aims not to ban Glock sales outright but to force the company to materially alter its designs or face liability for the carnage from converted pistols on city streets, including in downtown Minneapolis.