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You know we鈥檝e lost the thread when a kid who still needs permission to go to the bathroom at school is bragging about his gun that can fire 30 bullets with one pull.

The latest data from the (KCPAO) shows something rare these days: a real, measurable drop in shootings. In the first three months of the year, 60 people were shot in King County. That includes 13 people killed and 47 others wounded. Compared to the same time last year, that is a 41% drop.

It is the lowest level we have seen since before the pandemic.

The county also saw a big dip in the total number of shots fired. That number fell from 441 in the first quarter of last year to 278 this year. South King County, long the focus of drive-bys and retaliatory gang shootings, saw the biggest improvement. For the first time in years, Seattle logged more gunfire incidents than the south end.

Despite number of shots fired down, prosecutors are more alarmed

But while the trends are finally heading in the right direction, prosecutors say they are more alarmed than relieved. Because the shooters who remain are getting younger. The weapons are getting deadlier. And too often, it is the same kids showing up in the system over and over, until one of those shots finally hits someone.

Gary Ernsdorff, senior prosecutor with the KCPAO, told “Seattle’s Morning News” on 成人X站 Newsradio it is not just how many guns are on the streets. It鈥檚 how they are getting there.

鈥淭hese kids are not going to the store and buying them legally,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淭hey are getting them through vehicle prowls and social media connections. And now, we are seeing them adding Glock switches, turning these guns into fully automatic weapons.鈥�

Let that sink in. Middle schoolers with illegal machine guns.

For those unfamiliar, a Glock switch is a small device that can be added to a Glock handgun. With it, a pistol that normally fires one bullet per trigger pull suddenly unloads 30 rounds with one squeeze. And that is the kind of firepower prosecutors say they are seeing in the hands of 12 and 13-year-olds.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the new status symbol,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淚t used to be a revolver. Then it was a Glock. Now it鈥檚 a Glock with a switch.鈥�

Many of these guns are being stolen out of parked cars. And yes, there is a method to the madness.

“If you have a pickup truck with a bumper sticker that says 鈥楪un control means using both hands鈥� and you park outside a bar where you can鈥檛 take your firearm inside, that鈥檚 the kind of vehicle they鈥檙e targeting,” Ernsdorff said. “They will go on a vehicle prowl spree, hit a dozen or more cars, and get two or three or four guns in one night.”

Local shootings involving kids with Glock-style guns

And if you think this Glock switch problem is exaggerated, just ask the crowd that scattered at last summer鈥檚 Seafair Parade in Seattle鈥檚 Chinatown-International District. Three kids, two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old, were arrested there with loaded guns. Two of those guns had been modified with switches that made them fully automatic.

The teens had gang connections, according to prosecutors. They weren鈥檛 kept in custody long. Why? Because under current Washington law, they hadn鈥檛 yet been caught with a gun five separate times, the threshold for any mandatory long-term consequence. They were instead sentenced to electronic home monitoring and community service.

Or take the case in Spanaway.

It started with a planned fistfight between two young men outside Sprinker Recreation Center in February. It ended with more than two dozen bullets flying across a parking lot, two men in critical condition, and felony charges for unlawful possession of a machine gun.

, court records say one of the men brought a Glock-style handgun with stolen parts, an extended magazine, and a switch that made it fully automatic. During the fight, that gun was handed off. A witness told deputies she heard someone yell 鈥渨atch out鈥� before 20 to 30 shots blasted out.

This wasn鈥檛 a cartel shootout. These were local kids in their teens and early 20s. No criminal records. One had been working for Amazon. The other worked for a tug and barge service. But they brought a machine gun to a fight over a girlfriend.

This is what Gary Ernsdorff and other prosecutors are trying to get ahead of. Not just who is getting shot, but how many bullets are flying and how little control anyone has once that trigger is pulled.

That鈥檚 not just a policy problem. That鈥檚 a public safety nightmare.

How do teens acquire a Glock switch machine gun?

These switches are illegal. They鈥檙e classified as machine guns under federal law. But you can buy one online for 50 bucks or print one with a 3D printer in your garage. That鈥檚 how a kid with no permit and no training can turn a pistol into a weapon that spits out 30 rounds in under two seconds.

It鈥檚 not theoretical anymore. Law enforcement is recovering these at an increasing rate. In courtrooms across the region, you鈥檒l hear the same phrase again and again: Glock switch.

And no, there is no training day or gun safety class that prepares a 14-year-old for handling that kind of firepower. That鈥檚 why prosecutors like Gary Ernsdorff are sounding the alarm. Because it鈥檚 not just about who gets shot anymore. It鈥檚 about how many bullets are flying, and how little control anyone has once they鈥檙e in the air.

What gun owners can do to deter criminals

To be clear, these are not legally owned guns being misused by their owners. In nearly every case, these are guns that were stolen, trafficked, or handed off through underground networks. Still, prosecutors say responsible gun owners have a role to play in fixing the problem.

鈥淧roperly stored firearms are more difficult for these kids to get their hands on,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淟ock them up. Don鈥檛 leave them in your car. Use a trigger lock or gun safe. That makes a real difference.鈥�

The trend is not limited to stolen handguns either. Ernsdorff said some kids arrested for shootings already had multiple prior arrests for illegally having a gun. And yet, under current law, they can be caught with a gun up to five times before any significant legal consequence is possible.

Let that number sit with you for a second.

Five.

That is how many times a juvenile can be arrested for having a gun before they can be sent to a youth rehabilitation facility.

鈥淚t鈥檚 five times,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淎nd yes, we find that frustrating. That is why Prosecutor Leesa Manion asked for a change in the law this year. The bill didn鈥檛 go anywhere in Olympia, but we plan to try again.鈥�

This is not the usual law-and-order speech about being tough on crime. The prosecutor鈥檚 office is also looking at earlier intervention, especially in cases where a gun is used but no one is hurt.
It used to be that if shots were fired and nobody got hit, police might take a report and move on. Not anymore.

鈥淲hat we learned is that firearm is going to be used again and again and again,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淓ventually, someone gets hit.鈥�

Parents can have conversations with their children

Now the office is investing more resources into those no-injury shootings, teaming up with police departments and trying to identify suspects early. The goal is to intervene before someone ends up in the hospital. Or the morgue.

鈥淭alk to your kids,鈥� Ernsdorff said. 鈥淕uns among kids always lead to trouble. If they see something, tell a parent. Tell a school resource officer. They can keep it anonymous. But we need to say something.鈥�

That might sound simple, but it is a start.

The prosecutor鈥檚 office is also quick to say they are not doing this alone. A few cities have gun violence prevention units now. Other cities are working to get better data and share information more quickly. There is a growing sense of cooperation among agencies that used to work in silos.

And while the numbers show progress, the underlying danger has not gone away. It has just gotten quieter and more concentrated.

Gary Ernsdorff doesn鈥檛 deal in slogans or silver linings. He lays it out plainly: when you give a 13-year-old a Glock modified to fire 30 rounds in two seconds, it鈥檚 鈥渁lmost impossible to control.鈥�

The intended target might not get hit, but someone else will. That鈥檚 the math in crowded neighborhoods now: more bullets, more danger, more innocent people caught in the middle.

Looking ahead

But buried in all that is one line that sticks. After talking about the steep drop in shootings, he says, almost under his breath, 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 paying off.鈥�

What鈥檚 paying off, Ernsdorff says, is the shift in focus: treating every shooting like the next one could be worse, investing in cases where no one was hit, and trying to intervene before a bullet ever finds its mark.

It鈥檚 not exactly a victory lap. It鈥檚 more like a cautious breath. But in a conversation that felt full of warnings, it was the one thing that sounded like hope.

Listen to聽鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥�聽with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.