UPS mistakenly delivers assault rifle to couple instead of toy airplane

UPS has apologized for the incident

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A couple from Long Island, New York was shocked when they discovered an assault rifle was delivered to their home after purchasing a toy for their 6-year-old granddaughter.

Joel Berman and his wife, who asked not to be identified, recently purchased a Fisher Price toy airplane from Kohl’s website. On Wednesday, they received a large package addressed to their names and residence, they asked the UPS employee to place the item in the trunk of the wife’s car. After the family drove around with the package for most of the day, they gathered their children and opened the package—revealing the long, semi-automatic rifle, along with an extended score, ammo clip, and stand.

“[The rifle had] a rather sophisticated scope, according to the police,” the husband told CBS New York. “It was not the little Fisher-Price toy we had expected.”

When the couple called the police, not one, but four police cruisers showed up to their house, a source close to the family told The Independent. The couple also found several copies of an Arizona man's driver's license accompanied by a concealed-weapons permit.

The same family friend, an avid gun collector, told The Independent: "If it came to me I would have thanked Santa Claus for coming early."

“What if it went to someone who was having ill-intentions, and thought this was the greatest opportunity to get a weapon like this?” the husband asked the local CBS-affiliate.

UPS, the Atlanta-based package delivery company, said they’re investigating the incident and promised to deliver the couple’s toy airplane before the holidays.

“UPS does accept shipment of certain firearms in our domestic US system as long as the shipments comply with applicable law and are shipped in accordance with company policies,” the company said in a statement. “These shipments must be between licensed manufacturers, dealers, distributors, collectors and exclude consumer shipments. UPS puts responsibility with the shippers of regulated goods to follow the requirements for labeling and specific packaging.”