The creator of the Glock line of handguns, Gaston Glock, has died at the age of 94, Reuters reports.
Before Gaston Glock engineered the Glock-17 pistol, the Glock Company originally produced military knives and consumer goods, according to the report.
The design was lightweight and constructed primarily of plastic.
The Glock-17 reportedly won a contract with the Austrian military over several other companies’ blueprints in the 1980s.
The gun quickly rose to be a global phenomenon, the report stated.
Glock became the preferred pistol for more than 65 percent of law enforcement agencies across the United States, according to the company.
Gaston Glock and his family were also said to have accumulated a fortune of more than $1 billion.
Glock was known to be reclusive, rarely speaking to the press or engaging in public discourse over gun control.
He refused to sign a voluntary gun control deal with the U.S. government in 2000.
Glock is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons, according to the report.
