CHICAGO — In a shocking announcement, Chicago police said on Sunday that two teenage boys have been charged with using a machine gun to rob a 14-year-old in Uptown.

The robbery occurred around 5 p.m. Saturday in the 5100 block of North Sheridan. Police said a group of people, including a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, robbed the younger boy at gunpoint and then fled the scene.

Police searched the area and located the 16-year-old in the 5000 block of North Winthrop just after 6 p.m. He allegedly possessed an automatic-fire handgun when cops took him into custody.

The 15-year-old was arrested around the same time in the 1100 block of West Winona.

Both boys face charges of armed robbery and misdemeanor battery. The 16-year-old is also charged with unlawful use of a machine gun.

Police did not say exactly what kind of gun the 16-year-old had. However, people can easily convert standard models of some firearms, most commonly Glocks, into machine guns by equipping them with illegal after-market “switches.” This YouTube video shows a federal agent firing a switch-equipped handgun on a shooting range:

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