Houston man claims he's victim of identity theft and ended up with assault rifle parts

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A local man is speaking out after he claims an assault rifle he didn't buy was shipped to his home. He believes he is the victim of identity theft and he's now trying to clear his name.

"I thought it was a Christmas gift that just came late," said "John."

The package was shipped priority mail. When he opened it up he was shocked to see what was inside.

"Thought, 'This is a gun,'" he said.

It looked like a Hungarian rifle AK63.

"It came to my door step yesterday afternoon," he said.

According to the anonymous Houstonian, "John", he said this was not something he would ever purchase. He said he also realized there was a charge for a utility bill out of Colorado in his bank statement.

"I just don't understand how someone can buy an assault rifle on the internet," he said.

Eyewitness News started looking into this and got in touch with the owner of the company in Colorado.

"It's just parts. It does about as good as a rock does, really," said Alex Rice, the owner of the gun parts company in Colorado.

The owner said his company only ships parts of guns and rifles. What "John" received is still missing the receiver and barrel, which are the main components of a firearm. Rice also said his records clearly show that John made the purchase.

"If someone did steal his identity they did a good job and he wasn't aware until now," said Rice.

Meantime "John" said he's a victim in all of this and it's scary to him how someone was able to purchase this "gun shell" with no problem.

"I just want to turn it to police department and move on," he said.

John said someone stole about $1,200.00 from his debit account. He eventually turned over the parts to ATF and they are investigating.