Television crime shows continue to portray frequent murders with machine guns. The Crime Prevention Research Center has repeatedly shown that these depictions are far from reality, yet many shows still suggest that criminals regularly use such weapons.
In reality, criminals almost never use machine guns. A 2016 survey of prison inmates reported firearm use in crimes as 11.2% for handguns, 0.8% for rifles, and 1.1% for shotguns. The survey found so few rifle cases that it did not even separately identify fully automatic weapons. Similarly, FBI Uniform Crime Reports show that rifles of any type account for 2.6% of murders, while only 0.3% involve unspecified “other guns.”
There is a clear reason for this rarity. Since 1934, there has been only one known case of a civilian using a machine gun to commit murder. Even before 1934, such incidents were extremely uncommon.
CBS’ FBI (Season 8, Episode 16, March 30, 2026) and CIA (Season 1, Episode 6, March 30, 2026) depict criminals firing machine guns.
In FBI, a double homicide in Brooklyn tied to a corrupt longshoreman leads the team into a convoluted, high-stakes smuggling operation. The antagonist, known as “the Falconer,” plans to destroy a U.S. Navy ship using drones. The episode also portrays converting a semi-automatic gun into a machine gun as quick and easy, which is misleading. Devices like that can make a firearm significantly more dangerous to the person using it, as well as to others nearby. A huge risk is an out-of-battery discharge (firing before the chamber is fully closed), which can damage the gun and severely injure the shooter.
High-pressure gas and fragments from the bullet can escape in unintended directions .
— Case rupture / fragmentation: The cartridge case can split or blow out, sending brass fragments and hot gas backward.
— Gas venting: Escaping gas can come out through the ejection port or other openings, potentially causing burns or eye injuries.
— Mechanical damage: Parts like extractors, slides, or bolts can crack or fail.
— Hand injuries: Especially with semi-autos, the shooter’s hands are near the action and will be exposed to debris or gas.
If the shooter isn’t wearing protective eyewear, which few criminals will be wearing, Penetrating eye injuries with possible permanent vision loss/blindness.
In CIA, a group of Muslim extremists planning a bombing use machine guns to fend off a joint FBI/CIA operation.
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