HOUSTON - The gun that was used in Houston's East Side shootout with police appears to have been illegally modified to operate as an automatic weapon. BACKGROUND: 3 Houston police officers shot, in stable condition, suspect taken into custody following standoffThe part used to make the conversion is, technically, known as an 'auto sear' but also goes by names like 'Glock switch' and ‘buzz plate.’ Whatever the name, the modification makes the weapon very dangerous in the wrong hands.Houston police know this all too well.
For example, last September, officer Bill Jeffery was killed, and a sergeant wounded, while they served a warrant on a man who came out firing.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: HPD officer killed, another wounded while executing warrant in NE Harris Co.On Houston's East Side, the intense shootout between Houston Police, that left three officers injured, and accused shooter Roland Caballero, rivaled a movie scene.
Investigators say each involved the same kind of illegal machine pistol."That was an intentional act," says Black Gold Guns & Ammo owner Gordon Taylor, "He was trying to hurt those officers.
He was trying to kill them." MORE: Suspect involved in Houston police shootout, Roland Caballero, has long rap sheetTaylor says the modification is a simple process of changing out a portion of the trigger mechanism that controls the rate of fire.