A Pennsylvania HVAC company was expecting filters and fittings. A box of flash bangs and non-lethal ammo showed up instead

A Pennsylvania Reddit user who said they work in receiving at an HVAC company wrote that a shipment arrived that did not match the order, reports The Nerd Stash. The original poster, Aldrige_Lazuras, said the company had been expecting filters and fittings.

Instead, the user said the box contained flash bangs, non-lethal shotgun rounds, handcuffs, and other items. Aldrige_Lazuras wrote, “If anyone works in warehouses and especially receiving you know that sometimes, you just end up with the wrong product from time to time! But we never expected to be looking at a box of Flash bangs, non lethal shotgun rounds, handcuffs and even more! We were expecting filters and fittings lol.”

The first photo showed a blue grenade-style device marked “CTS PRACTICE.” Aldrige_Lazuras said the company did not know what was in the box until a day later.

Later photos showed rubber shotgun rounds and a labeled 40mm flash-bang cartridge

Aldrige_Lazuras later added more photos in the comments. One image showed an open cardboard box packed with bubble wrap, mixed shotgun-style shells, black packaged cartridges, and a red-and-black handheld device.

Another photo showed a clear bag of shotgun-style rounds marked CTS, including labels that read “RUBBER SABOT,” “LOW VELOCITY RUBBER BALLS,” and “NON-TOXIC.” A third photo showed a round with a green tip labeled “AERIAL BURST 40MM FLASH BANG 200 METERS.”

Aldrige_Lazuras said mix-ups had happened before when shipping companies broke down pallets and restacked them without checking packing lists. The user wrote, “We’re guessing this fell off of someone else’s skid and looked enough like our product that the shipper made an educated guess lol we don’t know we had it until a day later!”

In another comment, Aldrige_Lazuras added, “checks manifest nah I think we got the right stuff.” A commenter joked that a weapons depot had received R-410a and a vacuum pump the same day. Aldrige_Lazuras replied with the manifest remark.

One commenter said the blue color on the first grenade typically marks an inert training device. After seeing the extra photos, that commenter added that the rest of the items looked like live equipment rather than trainers.

Several commenters said “non-lethal” can be a misleading term. One wrote that the equipment is more accurately called less-than-lethal and that people can still be seriously hurt or killed by it. Another said they preferred “less lethal” because it makes clear the items can still be deadly.

A former police officer described training rules for such tools. The commenter said beanbag rounds and rubber bullets are generally aimed at thighs, calves, and forearms, while the chest, head, center of the back, and groin are treated as high-risk areas. 

Other users focused on shipping. One asked whether the package had been declared as dangerous goods and whether paperwork was inside the box. Another said sending explosives or reactive items without proper markings is a serious violation.

Some commenters suggested turning the items over to the local sheriff rather than calling federal agencies. Others treated the mix-up as a joke, saying the company would not need holiday gifts or that the box could become part of a workplace party. Shipping mix-ups can send the wrong items to customers, as when a man bought an RTX 5070 Ti but opened the box to find water cooling instead. 

Commenters also reacted directly to the post. One wrote, “It’s not too late to delete the post and tell the mail carrier you didn’t get sh-t…” Another said, “Now you don’t have to go Christmas shopping!” A third wrote, “Some law enforcement agency is going to be confused receiving a box of filters.” 

Such shipping mix-ups can lead to unexpected deliveries, like when a woman received a taped box containing only accessories after ordering a 500 DJI camera from Amazon.  Additional comments included, “That grenade is an inert training grenade. That’s what the blue color signifies.” 

After the extra photos, the same commenter added, “The rest looks like the real sh-t.” Another user wrote, “Yeah those might be destructive devices so you may want to call the ATF and let them figure out.” A reply said calling the sheriff instead might be simpler.