Labeling mishap brings Hantsport man gun instead of leggings

Glenn Deering was just trying to augment the bottom line at his Barking Bean Cafe in Hantsport when he ordered a delivery of holiday-themed leggings earlier this month.

But what arrived definitely falls under the “item may not be exactly as pictured” warning that comes with online ordering.

Deering picked up a package from the post office earlier this week and took it home, but when he opened up the box what he found was a 9 mm Girsan handgun.

“I got the notice from Canada post that a package had arrived, so I picked it up and brought it back thinking ' Ok great, I have my leggings, I have customers waiting on sales,'” he said.

“I opened it up, and looking at the case, I knew it was something I didn't order.”

The sleek dark plastic case had the manufacturer's name in raised lettering. He called his wife to see if she had ordered something for their son, but she hadn't.

After opening the case and seeing what it was, he contacted the RCMP in Windsor.

“They were quite amused and as surprised as I was,” he said.

Police came by soon after and confirmed the weapon was real. It came with a clip to hold bullets and was equipped with a trigger lock, but there was no ammunition.

“The more we dug through the packaging, we found the paperwork for who the gun was supposed to go to.” Deering said. “Looking closer at the packaging, we saw my shipping label was over top of another label.”

The officers peeled Deering's label up and found that it covered a label that matched the shipping information in the box, which was supposed to be delivered in Ontario.

He contacted his leggings supplier, who said that the leggings were shipped in a bag, not a box.

“My shipping label from the package ended up somehow on this box,” Deering said. He said police think that the label came off the bag somewhere in the Canada Post delivery system and landed right over the original label on the box.

“It was the quite the surprise, it made quite the story,” he said.

“Accidents can happen, and I just went on social media with it to make people aware that with all the online shopping now because of the pandemic, be very careful and make sure you're getting what you ordered,” Deering said. “Just don't assume this is what you ordered and go ahead and wrap it, double check and open up the packaging to see you are getting what you asked for.”

He contacted Canada Post, and the corporation is trying to figure out what happened and where.

“Unfortunately, I'm out of Christmas leggings,” he said. “Somewhere out there is a label-less bag in a sorting centre.”

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Andrew Joyce said police determined that the handgun was properly shipped and sold.

“The firearm was sent in a lawful manner to a licensed individual in Ontario,” Joyce said. “It was all on the up-and-up.”

He said police have contacted Canada Post security to look into the incident, and said arrangements will have to be made to deliver the weapon to its rightful owner.