This Guy Received a Semiautomatic Rifle in the Mail After He Ordered a TV -- What Happened?

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- A Washington musician who ordered a flat-screen TV from Amazon.com was bit confused when he first received a box smaller than he expected. He was shocked when he opened the package and saw semiautomatic rifle instead.

Seth Horvitz, 38, says he purchased the 39-inch television from a third-party seller on the website. Given the size of the box that arrived from UPS on Tuesday evening, he initially thought it contained accessories.

But when he opened it, he found a Sig Sauer military-style rifle. He says he had never held a gun before he felt the trigger of the rifle. MyFoxDC reports Horvitz's reaction to his stunning delivery:

"I just flipped out, I didn't know what ... how could that happen, you know?" Horvitz said. "It was absurd to think it could just be left out in the hallway first of all and this kind of mix up could happen."

An invoice showed that the gun was intended for delivery to a firearms dealer in Duncansville, Pa. Horvitz called police, who took the gun and are investigating how the mistaken shipment occurred. Amazon and UPS had no immediate comment.

MyFoxDC has more on how such a mix-up could occur:

Daniel Vice with The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there are "Not many restrictions. You can't ship a handgun through the Postal Service, but you can ship it by any other common carrier. Rifles and shotguns, even assault rifles, can be shipped through just about anyone."

[...]

 

According to The Florida Gun Exchange, the rifle was shipped properly, according to law with the correct address on the box.

But in transit, the label with Horvitz's address somehow came off the box with the television and was attached to the box with the gun.

"Whoever made the mistake, it's pretty serious. I think it should be followed up," said Horvitz.

Watch the full report:

DCist also interviewed Horvitz, and he said this experience has made him "think twice about the lack of information about third-party sellers on Amazon."

(H/T: Gizmodo)