WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Metropolitan Police Department is
investigating why a District resident was mistakenly mailed an assault
rifle instead of the flat-screen TV he'd ordered through Amazon.
Seth Horvitz is still trying to process how a UPS driver could drop off
such a deadly weapon on his doorstop and in a city where these kinds of
guns are illegal.
"As I opened it there were some metal parts and I thought, 'Oh, maybe
these go with the TV?' But then as I opened the foam up a little
further, it was a huge shock to see that this was a military-grade rifle
," said Horvitz. "How could this mix-up happen?"
The UPS label had Horvitz's name and address on it, but the invoice
inside the box was made out to the Independence Gun Shop in
Duncansville, Pennsylvania. Horvitz says he didn't know what do. He
knew that simply having this kind of firearm was illegal in the
District. He also knew it's illegal to drive with one in your car, even
if you're driving to a police station. So Seth called police and they
came out to his apartment.
"They said it was a peculiar situation, not something they encounter evey day," said Horvitz.
DC Police confiscated the weapon and they say they're still
investigating how it ended up at Horvitz's apartment. It turned out to
be a Sig Sauer SIG716, a high caliber, semi-automatic rifle that sells
for over $2,000. Seth got it for free, but he doesn't want to keep it.
He just wanted a new TV, but now he wants something else.
"I would like to know how this type of mixup could take place,
especially with these mass shootings that have been going on. I don't
want to be in a situation where this type of weapon can just show up on
someone's doorstep accidentally. I would like to see more precautions
taken," said Horvitz.
So far no one is taking responsibility for the mistake: not UPS, not Amazon, nor the third-party seller.
WUSA