I ordered a household item on Amazon - and got a deadly weapon instead

A CUSTOMER has been left stunned and confused after he received a parcel from Amazon that contained a lethal weapon inside.

Don Thompson, 78, is a regular user of the online store but a recent order for a screen door went horribly wrong when a .20 gauge shotgun was delivered to his home.

Don Thompson was shocked when he found a weapon had been delivered by mistakeCredit: CBS

Inside the package was a Stoeger .20 gauge shotgunCredit: CBS

Pictures show the gun was delivered to his home in Colorado, US, with the package tracking code matching the original order.

The former law enforcement officer told CBS News Colorado he was unable to comprehend Amazon’s mistake.

He said: “I was totally dumbfounded.

“They don’t get them wrong often.

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“But this is terrifying, absolutely terrifying to me.

“I don’t want a gun, I just want my screen.”

Thompson said he ordered a roll of fiberglass screen mesh on July 30.

A few days later, couriers UPS delivered the package from Amazon to his doorstep but it contained a Stoeger shotgun.

He said the delivery left him rattled because a mix-up like that could have left the firearm in the hands of a felon or someone with bad intentions.

Reports confirm the tracking number given to him for his screen mesh order was the same tracking number that appeared on the box containing the shotgun.

The mailing label indicated the firearm had been sent from an Amazon fulfilment centre in Aurora, Illinois.

Amazon said it does not stock or sell firearms.

An internal investigation has begun, and Amazon emailed Thompson: “I’m terribly sorry to hear we’ve shipped you a firearm instead of the screen you purchased.

“This certainly isn’t what we want our customers to expect, and I can assure you the firearm was shipped unintentionally.

“We’re conducting an internal investigation of the errors leading to this shipping out from our fulfilment centre to ensure this doesn’t happen to any other customers.”

As soon as the weapon was identified, the Colorado man contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which came to his home and took custody of the shotgun.

Jenny Fulton, county officer, said investigations were ongoing.

She said: “It does appear that it [shotgun] was stolen, but we’ve barely begun our investigation and there is apparently a lot to unravel.”

Amazon is helping Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.

In the meantime, the company credited Thompson £200 and refunded the cost of the screen mesh.