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A box of guns was delivered to a Delaware County high school in what police called an "honest mistake."
Police said the delivery to Chester High School was a mistake on the part of FedEx, but parents say it couldn’t come at a worse time – when schools are laser-focused on keeping children safe as they’re getting ready to return to class.
Chester Upland School District Superintendent Dr. Craig Parkinson said they were expecting a delivery of textbooks and supplies for the start of the school year, but instead, something else arrived at the loading dock Friday.
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School district leaders said the package from FedEx was stored inside the school over the weekend. On Monday, a FedEx driver returned to the school when they realized the delivery was wrong.
Six guns were inside the package, officials said.
“We were contacted and followed school protocol and got the police involved immediately,” Nafis Nichols, Chester Upland School District receiver, said.
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The Chester police department said they found the guns were 30 caliber M1 rifles.
Chester Upland School District officials sent out a letter to school staff and families making them aware of the discovery.
“When deliveries come in, we check everything,” Kevin Thomas, Chester High School maintenance employee told NBC10. “Usually, it’s like school supplies. So I don’t think – in the history, nothing like this has ever happened. So it had to be a big misunderstanding, big mistake.”
Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky said the box was not addressed to the school, or even to a property in the city of Chester. Rather, it had been addressed to an auto repair shop in bordering Chester Township to an avid gun collector.
Gretsky said no charges will be filed.
“They had a right to purchase it, we checked everything out, everything was completely legal- nothing illegal about it,” Gretsky said. “And it was one solo individual who purchased the firearms.”
The firearms were returned to FedEx, authorities said.
“We take this matter very seriously and are cooperating fully with investigating authorities,” FedEx told NBC10.
