Severe storms drop baseball-size hail, tornado touches down near Amboy, Minn.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A Minneapolis man found what he said was an unwelcome surprise in his recent Amazon order: a loaded handgun.

Travis Meier had ordered a hydration vest designed for carrying water on long-distance runs or bike rides. He found a white sealed plastic Amazon package on his doorstep on Feb. 12.

It was the vest he’d ordered, but Meier said it felt heavier than he’d expected. So he checked the pockets. Inside was a holstered handgun — a Ruger LCP 380. 

It’s a small gun, about the size of Meier’s hand, he said. At first, he thought it might be a toy or a lighter — until he opened up the chamber and found bullets inside.

“Once I saw what was going on, I'm just like, ‘oh my god, I cannot believe what I'm seeing right now,’” Meier said. 

That scared him. Meier said he’s taken gun safety classes and knew how to handle the weapon, but he’s worried about what could have happened if a child or someone without training had opened it — or, if the gun had fired in transit.

“I cannot believe that this thing did not fire,” Meier said. “This could have been anybody, and it could have gotten somebody killed.”

Meier called 911 after opening the package and officers came that evening. According to the police report, they collected the gun and six cartridges, along with the holster and Amazon packaging.

Meier also called Amazon’s customer service line to ask how a loaded gun ended up in his package. Meier said they didn’t have an answer. The representative gave him a gift card and said they’d get back to him within two days. Almost two weeks later, the company reached out to him and confirmed the order was fulfilled by Amazon. 

A spokesperson for Amazon told MPR News that the company is looking into it. He said they believe a previous customer returned the vest with the gun in the pocket, and the company then shipped it to Meier.

“We take issues like this very seriously and are investigating what happened while taking appropriate next steps,” the Amazon spokesperson said.

The Minneapolis Police Department is also investigating. 

A department spokesperson said they’ll check national databases for sales and ownership records connected to the gun and could process fingerprint and DNA evidence.

Amazon sells airsoft and BB guns, but not real firearms and not the model that Meier received. But it’s not the first time customers have found unexpected guns in Amazon packages. A man in Colorado got a 

 in 2022. Ten years earlier, a man in Washington, D.C. was 

Amazon’s spokesperson says they’re helping law enforcement with the investigation. 

Correction (Feb. 27, 2026): A previous version of the story misstated the name of the gun found in the Amazon package. It's a Ruger LCP 380.

Minnesota News

NewsPartners

Homepage

Minneapolis News

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Author

A Minneapolis man found what he said was an unwelcome extra in his recent Amazon order: a loaded handgun. Police are investigating where it came from and how it ended up on his doorstep.

Minneapolis man finds loaded gun in Amazon package delivered to his doorstep

Courtesy of Travis Meier

a gun, holster and magazine sit on a table

Minneapolis man finds loaded gun in Amazon package delivered to his doorstep

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox