Once, I was renting a house in a middle class neighborhood in California about 2 years ago. This stranger came up to my door and knocks, I answer and this older dude with a scruffy mustache and a seething angry scowl greets me at my door. He immediately accuses me of stealing his Amazon package. How could I have stolen his package? I was at a white collar job all day and had just come home half an hour ago. He questions me about why I don’t have a Amazon door bell with the camera on it, I explain that its a rented house and then I didn’t want to damage the house by mounting one, which is understandably a mildy bizarre reason not to have one, but is also equally bizarre that I am required to have one. He tells me that he got a picture from Amazon with the picture of the package being at my door.
At this point I can notice this man is visibly and obviously intoxicated. It was only 6pm and the sun had not even set and I was confused as to how this man had gotten himself so drunk he could barely stand up straight. There also happens to be a few empty Amazon boxes in my entry way that were about to go into the garbage as I do also order from Amazon. He accuses me of stealing the package and keeping it to myself. I said I did no such thing. He was getting loud and bellicose at this point. He said to give him his package or else “Suffer dire consequences”. I closed the door assuring him it would be delt with. I asked my Wife at the time if she’s seen a package adressed to someone else, she said she didn’t know if it was for us or not but she put the package in the den. I go to the den, its not there.
Now at this point Im confused, I ask her about it and she says she’s positive she put it there a few hours ago. I just wanted this to go away so I just did what most rational people would do and I go to the man in the front and say we don’t have a package and that he should call Amazon and get the item replaced for free. He then proceeds to pull a pistol on me and points it at my face. He says he’s “Tired of having his shit stolen” pushes me with all his might into my house. He is a heavy set man and I was tall and scrawny at the time with a gun in my face so I back down. I tell my Wife to call 911 and she does. All while frantically searching for this package she swears she had placed down.
The worst thought in my head is that my daughter was upstairs and that I would at least stop him from going upstairs. I block the foyer from entry to the second story and at this point my daughter comes out of her room hearing the commotion and sees this scene. Starts screaming and crying.
At this point I am in panic mode. If you have ever been in a situation where you are locked into a physical altercation with the threat of life or death you will know what I’m talking about. I can start hearing police sirens, thank god, there must have been a cop in the area which is unusual because we are living in middle class suburbia. While looking for any improvized weapons I can use if this man starts to go upstairs. I ask her if she’s seen an Amazon package, understandably she is too distraught and upset to be reasoned with. This dude is unphased by the approaching sirens and tells me “I better give him whats fucking his”. I’m thinking I’m a dead man because he has his finger on the trigger ready to shoot me.
My wife gets inbetween me and the stairway and goes up to protect our daughter. She goes in her room and about 20 seconds later throws a small package down the stairs with an opened Amazon Echo Dot box with nothing in it. Me and the man made eye contact and we both had realized roughly what had happened. The man then lowered his gun and had the most defeated and distraught look on his face.
He put away his gun, turned away and started walking to his house, at this moment the police pulled up and had a description and told the man to put his hands up. and the police confronted him and he surrendered and tried to talk his way out of it. He was immediately put into the back of a cop car, apparently he had a long history with alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Apparently he was not even supposed to be in possession of a fire arm in his situation in my state.
The package had obviously delivered to the wrong address 2 houses away. My daughter’s 10th birthday was coming up and she likes gadgets and she came upon the package and opened it which I let her do because hey why not its fun for kids to open packages, saw the Amazon echo and assumed it was a birthday present for her.
I know stay armed with 2 shotguns and revolver in my gun safe inside an locked armoire in my dining room. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. I was almost shot over a misdelivered package and a fucking Amazon Echo Dot.