Military Wife Buys Baby Shower Present At Goodwill. She Doesn’t Know There’s A Semi-Automatic Inside.

A military wife and her husband bought a baby bouncer from Goodwill as a present for a baby shower, unaware of what else was inside the box, and when the father-to-be saw what was inside, he couldn’t contain his excitement over what else he found inside: a Mossberg 715T semi-automatic .22LR rifle.

As Fox 35 Orlando reports, Veronica Alvarez-Rodriguez found a Baby Einstein baby bouncer selling for $9.99, so she bought it. She said later that the gun wasn’t loaded and the chamber was locked, but the magazine inside the box was loaded.

The father-to-be, delighted, reacted to the unexpected gift by chortling, “You guys got me a gun!”

Alvarez-Rodriguez posted on Facebook:

When you go to the Goodwill for a baby shower gift thinking you got a good deal on a bouncer ($10) not even opened and you end up opening a 🔫MOSSBERG 715T Semi-Auto Rifle. FYI: This was Valparaiso Goodwill. Serial number was clean & Crestview Police said do what you want with it. The gun now belongs to Baby Jonathan who is due to enter this world any day now 😂#wegiftedhimhisfirstgun. Update: Just added video proof that gun does in fact fit in the baby bouncer box. Crestview Police have the gun for 90 days.

When some people doubted the incident was genuine, she added on Facebook, “To all the news reporters and everyone else following the story…I am not a crestview mom & I am not a Floridian! I did not expect to find a gun in a baby box and NO the rifle was not fully loaded as the media is switching our story. Also you can see the rifle fits in the box in the video I posted that’s al♀️ still can’t believe this. happening♀️#JustACaliforniaGirlLivingInFlorida.”

The Northwest Florida Daily News stated, “An officer came to the shower and checked the couple’s IDs to make to ensure they were not convicted felons, according to Maj. Andrew Schneider, public information officer for the Crestview PD. The responding officer initially allowed the father-to-be to keep the gun while the incident was under investigation. But the next day, police asked him to turn the gun over to the Crestview Police Department.”

Military Times reported, “Crestview Police Department officials confirmed to Military Times that the incident was reported on Dec. 1 and that an investigation was ongoing as of Wednesday. The police department said the family who received the gun contacted them, and voluntarily relinquished the weapon for investigation.”

Sportsmans Outdoors Superstore says of the Mossberg:

Unlike many other tactical .22s, Mossberg has differentiated themselves by going with a A2-style (carry handle) receiver instead of the A3-style. The Mossberg 715T Tactical has A2 front and rear sights, and the carry handle includes a picatinny rail if you want to mount optics. Most tactical .22s have a 16 inch barrel, but Mossberg decided to go with an 18 inch barrel for a better sight radius and a more traditional look.

Alvarez-Rodriguez told FOX 35 News, “Total shock for us. But also hilarious and just glad it came into safe hands with all of our husbands being military.”

She concluded, “Goodwill has the best treasures for $9.99.”