ATF Special Agent: Houston 'ground zero' for auto switch devices on firearms

The Houston Police Department has released bodycam footage of an officer being fatally wounded, his partner injured while trying to serve an arrest warrant.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said officer William "Bill" Jeffrey, who was killed in the line of duty, and his partner, Michael Vance were victims of a modified automatic weapon.

"Two of Houston's finest, Senior Officer William 'Bill' Jeffrey and Sgt. Michael Vance were gunned down by a handgun modified into an automatic weapon,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter. “No anti-crime strategy is complete without common sense gun safety policies."

The video footage runs for approximately 11 minutes and it shows the moment Jeffrey and Vance were shot at what looks to be the suspect's apartment, 30-year-old Deon Ledet, according to news station KHOU.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner released the video on based on his pledge to make all bodycam footage available to the public.

Fred Milanowski, the special agent in charge of Houston's ATF division, said Ledet utilized a weapon that had an auto switch, which allows a gun to function like a small machine gun.

"There is absolutely no reason or no room for a suspect or suspects to be armed like this," Finner said. "This is what we're up against and we need to do something about it."