The 14-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed Newark, N.J., Detective Joseph Azcona in a barrage of 29 bullets used a ghost gun with a device that turned it into “the world’s smallest machine gun,” a source told The Post.
Machine gun conversion devices, or “Glock switches,” enable a weapon to fire multiple rounds with a single squeeze of the trigger, the law enforcement source said.
The devices are illegal and cheap.
Kits to transform semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic ones can cost just $20.
Ghost guns themselves are assembled from kits or parts, which are often sold online, and lack serial numbers, making them untraceable. The kits start at just $800.
“Individuals can make their own firearm in their own home via readily available kits,” the source said. “The process is not difficult.”
Azcona, 26, was struck before he could get out of his patrol car last Friday night at the corner of Carteret Avenue and Broadway, when the teen allegedly opened fire on him and his partner during a gun sweep.
Azcona’s partner, who wasn’t identified, was shot but lived. The unidentified teen, was also shot, survived, and was charged with murder.
Azcona had been on the force for five years. His funeral was held on Friday at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
A letter the detective wrote in 2019 to the local police academy about why he wanted a career in law enforcement was read at his funeral.
“So I can help make the community I live in better — I have witnessed a lot of trouble in the area where I grew up,” he wrote. “To help people in the city of Newark, especially those who cannot help themselves.
He continued: “In 30 years, I can see myself retired with a happy family and beautiful kids. The day after I graduate from the police academy will be my best day.”