A UPS delivery mix up could’ve ended tragically when a sniper rifle was delivered to house in Long Island, New York instead of a toy airplane, the New York Daily Newsreported Friday.
According to a 59-year-old grandma living in Oceanside, she and her husband, who wished to remain anonymous, ordered a Fisher-Price airplane. She later revealed she received the package from UPS on Wednesday and asked the UPS worker to load it up in her car, which she drove to school to pick up her granddaughter.
The couple opened the package with their 6-year-old granddaughter and were “horrified” to find the sniper rifle. The rifle and scope were delivered in a 51 lb. Casio piano box. The grandma said the box was marked as having shipped from a Kohl’s department store, though inside there was a paper from a sender in Arizona. The grandma also revealed the package label, which had her address, had a listing for a gunsmith. The confused couple called police after making the discovery.
The rifle, identified as a Barrett M95, was received by Gem Gunsmithing, a firearms dealer, on Friday. The owner speculated that someone in the shipping process probably tried to steal the rifle and scope, valued at $6,800, by sending it to the wrong address.
UPS spokesman Susan Rosenberg called the situation “highly unusual” and said it could’ve just been a labeling error and not theft. In a statement, Rosenberg also said UPS ships firearms to licensed dealers and distributors, but doesn’t send them to consumers.
The story saw a happy ending, with the couple finally getting the toy airplane they ordered on Thursday.
