18-Year-Old Used Illegally Modified Machine Pistol in Northport Shooting, Police Say

An 18-year-old from Northport has been arrested for allegedly using an illegally modified machine pistol in a shooting there last Thursday night, police have told the Thread.

Captain Jack Kennedy, the commander of the multi-agency Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, said their investigators were called at about 11 p.m. on July 10th after a shooting victim arrived at a local hospital with significant injuries. 

Their investigation took them to the 1900 block of Harper Road in Northport, where the shooting allegedly took place. There were several shell casings on site, and Kennedy said video evidence shows they were fired from an illegally modified pistol.

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Using a "switch" turns a normally semi-automatic Glock handgun into a full-auto machine pistol, which will fire shots at blistering speed as long as the trigger is held. These conversion devices are criminally banned in Alabama and are also federally illegal.

Police are still working out the circumstances of the Thursday night incident - Kennedy said there are potential self-defense issues at play, and the VCU has not filed assault or attempted murder charges against an 18-year-old shooting suspect.

Whether or not he was defending himself, though, it is illegal to own or use the modified machine pistol - Kennedy said investigators found and recovered the altered Glock at the scene.

Police have arrested Akari Morgan, 18, for violating Alabama's Glock Switch Act, which was signed into law this March.

Morgan was placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where his bond was later set at $25,000.

After their investigation concludes, the VCU will submit its findings for presentation to a grand jury, which will deliberate to determine if any additional criminal charges are warranted.

For more coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.