Man Orders TV Through Amazon, Gets Assault Rifle

[Tony_FLADEM]

When D.C. resident Seth Horvitz ordered a flat-panel TV on Amazon, he didn’t expect to get a military-grade assault rifle in return.

Horvitz ordered the TV, a Westinghouse 39-inch LCD, for about $320 from a third-party electronics seller on Amazon.

On Tuesday evening, a large, oblong box arrived at his doorstep via UPS Ground.

“When I saw some metal parts inside the box, I thought, ‘Maybe this is a TV stand or mount or something,’” Horvitz said in a phone interview with Wired.

“When I realized it was an assault rifle, it was pure shock and disbelief.”


http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/tv-amazon-assault-rifle/

[DirkGently]

1. How many channels does it get?

[Justice wanted]

35. 1 channel the NRA channel.

[REP]

2. That's an AR-based semi-auto only rifle, not a select-fire assault rifle

And for $320.00?

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. List price is around $1700 for that rifle, apparently!

[REP]

6. Yup

I almost want to see if I can replicate that bug ...

[freshwest]

8. Looks like he could trade it back for several televisions.

[dballance]

5. Oh, Thanks. Pointing out it's just a semi-auto really makes me change my mind about guns.

I fail to see how pointing out that a GUN that was not ordered by the recipient was not a full automatic but just a semi-automatic should make me feel better about our absurd gun culture.

Tomorrow when I call a place to order take-out will it just be fine and dandy if they show up with a Glock for me rather than fried rice? I'd still like soy sauce with that.

[REP]

7. Sloppy reporting; the article said it was a military weapon - it's not

I don't care how you feel about guns. I do care about accuracy in reporting. Military weapons are select fire (semi or full auto); military styled AR-types are semi-auto only. That Sig is a civilian model.

[fainaent]

16. +1

I don't care if someone is liberal, conservative, libertarian, green, blue, or upside down.

Media reporting is simply shameful. We should let them know that trying to sensationalize things by distorting the truth isn't their job.

[lonestarnot]

48. The apparent facts in this case are sensational enough all by themselves.

[Major Nikon]

18. Actually they said it was "military-grade"

If you're going to insist on 100% literary accuracy in reporting, you may want to pay attention to your own details.

Just sayin'

[REP]

22. It's not "military grade," either

Sigs are very good guns; well-made and accurate. The one in the story, like all AR types, are modeled on military grade rifles, but are not weapons used by any military force.

[Major Nikon]

32. Regardless there's a difference between "military weapon" and "military grade"

This difference is no less subtle than the difference between "assault" rifle and "military styled" rifle.

Just having fun hair splitting, as you were.

BTW, the local Faux affiliate called it an "assault rifle" this morning.

Just sayin'

[Sherman A1]

27. Perhaps

however, it is still not a TV. If I was the customer I think I would be just a bit beyond furious at the screw up and they would have somebody there bring me the correct item and to pick the damn thing up as I would not want to handle it at all.

[REP]

29. If it were me, I'd be pleased with the tremendous bargain

$320 for a $1700 item? Not bad at all.

I just don't get "beyond furious" about mail order screw ups. Or much else, really.

[Sherman A1]

33. If you don't like or want a gun in your home,

you would be beyond furious.

[lonestarnot]

49. He called the cops and they apparently picked it up and still have it.

[Politicalboi]

3. Maybe it's 3D

And it's so life like, it only looks like a real gun. That's one kick ass TV.

[loli phabay]

15. rofl shame hes in DC, just across the river he could have turned a tidy profit

i just have the vision of the guy expecting the rifle looking at the tv trying to figure how it works...

[Kaleva]

9. Many common hunting rifles and shotguns are illegal to own in Washington D.C.

It is illegal for any civilian to have a machine gun in the District and Washington D.C defines a machine gun as:

"as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. "

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/guncontrol/a/dcguns.htm

[REP]

23. That Sig is a semi-auto

It's not select-fire, and isn't a "machine gun" (full auto). It well may be illegal in DC, but it's legal in many places - even in California.

[Kaleva]

36. Just pointing out how D.C. apparently defines "machine gun".

That SIG is illegal to have in D.C. not because it's an assault weapon or a military style assault rifle but because it's a semi-automatic that has a detachable magazine. Now if the SIG had a fixed 10 round magazine and couldn't be easily converted back to having a detachable mag, it'd be legal to own despite being a so called assault weapon or military style assault rifle.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Damn, makes me wonder what will show up next week?

Oh wait, USPS s the shipper.

[DrDan]

26. USPS was not the shipper

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Why I implied I won't have a problem.

[struggle4progress]

11. So maybe I could order a laptop and get a supercomputer?

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Same family, here they were not even close

It has it's humor factor. Order a lego set and get a lowes rocket more like it.

[struggle4progress]

13. So I have to solve the proportion: x is to supercomputer as lego set is to rocket?

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. I guess

I mean if you ipordered a tv and got a computer monitor. One thing, this is funny.

[thelordofhell]

17. DEATH TO VIDEODROME!! LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!!

[jberryhill]

19. Easily confused in the warehouse

Remember when they were shipping grenades instead of floor lamps?

[aquart]

20. Actually, I think Mother Jones did an expose of that un-airconditioned warehouse.

Work conditions are horrific (Think Lucy in the chocolate factory).

Wonder what other mistakes they've made.

[Franker65]

21. Crazy

How can this happen with Amazon, absolutely unbelievable. And can you just buy a gun straight off the internet with no background check?

[justanidea]

31. Amazon doesnt sell guns. Its likely a shipping mix up.

Also if you buy a gun off the internet, it must, by law, be shipped to a licensed gun dealer. They call you when its in and when you go to pick it up, they perform the background check before letting you take it home.

[ManiacJoe]

24. It took until paragraph 17 but: The evidence points to a UPS mix-up.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

25. It was a UPS label mix up apparently.

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 Hurwitz'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.

The Florida Gun Exchange says it's looking to UPS for answers.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19230886/labeling-error-blamed-for-rifle-delivery-instead-of-tv#ixzz232LQFRm5

Someplace out there in the land of UPS is the poor guys TV with no label on it.

[Canadian 2]

28. You know you're screwed when

real life emulates an episode of Family Guy (which is my favorite American TV show)!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

30. UPS/FedEx/USPS screw up deliveries all the time... shit happens.

It should have went to a licensed federal firearms dealer... not Amazon's or the guy's fault.

[Motown_Johnny]

34. Consider the poor guy who ordered an assault rifle and got a TV.

How the hell is he going to, ummm... hunt squirrel, with a TV?







I am assuming shipping labels were accidentally switched.

[kctim]

37. Weird

According to the fearful anti rights people, the gun should have shot him or he should have grabbed the rifle and started shooting everybody.

[Junkdrawer]

39. Does make you wonder how many guns go though UPS...

and how easily background checks are evaded.

[Kaleva]

40. It's illegal to ship a gun to anyone else directly

First, one would have to find someone willing to risk jail time. And how would a seller know the buyer isn't an undercover police officer? Or how would the buyer know the seller isn't an undercover police officer?

[Junkdrawer]

41. So either I'm to believe that the ONE TIME an illegal shipment of an assault rifle was made....

and UPS screwed it up.

--- OR ---

It's being done fairly regular and, sooner or later, a mix up like this happens.

[Kaleva]

42. The invoice in the box was to a gun dealer in Pennsylvania.

"An invoice found inside the box, Horvitz said, listed the sender as online gun retailer Gunbuyer.com. The invoice, for $1,590, was addressed to Independence Gun Shop, a gun store in Duncansville, Pennsylvania....."The guy ordered stuff from the internet, it has to go through an approved federal firearms licensed shop…. You verify licenses on both ends, the shipper and the receiver, and you ship the gun to the approved ATF FFL holder.”"

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/tv-amazon-assault-rifle/

Guns are shipped by UPS, Dunham Express, FedEx, USPS all the time but one has to go thru licensed gun dealers to do so legally.

I've ordered 3 guns off the internet in the past and they were shipped to a local gun dealer where I had to go thru a background check before the dealer would hand them over to me.

[Poll_Blind]

43. ^ This

Gun dealers can ship guns to other dealers, no problem.

BTW, Kaleva- what did the local gun dealer charge you for the service? I've always wondered what kind of fee they'd charge.

Thanks!

PB

[Kaleva]

44. The ones I used didn't charge but I gave $20.00 for their time.

[NickB79]

46. If it were done regularly, the ATF would have a lot of people in jail by now

Unauthorized transfers of guns are not something they look kindly upon.

[slackmaster]

45. I've received more than a dozen firearms through UPS, with no background check required

I have a Federal Firearms License that allows me to receive curio and relic firearms that way.

But I've always had to receive them at my home in person, and sign for them.

[Bake]

47. Where can I order one of those "TVs"!!!!

Bake

[Kennah]

50. I just placed an order for a blow up doll. I'm expecting Jenna Jameson.

[Enrique]

51. lol at his review

[lonestarnot]

52. www.myfox.com?

snort

[darkangel218]

53. I wonder what if woudve happened if he just kept it