- A FedEx driver dropped off boxes containing .30 caliber M1 rifles at Chester High School.
- The guns sat inside the school over the weekend before the driver returned to collect them.
- The error was caused by the school having an address similar to the intended recipient's.
A FedEx driver mistakenly left boxes containing high-powered, military-style rifles at a public high school outside Philadelphia last Friday, according to police and school officials.
The guns, identified as .30 caliber M1 rifles, sat inside the Chester High School loading dock over the weekend, staff believing the unopened boxes to contain textbooks, CBS News reported.
The driver returned on Monday to collect the packages.
He was "visibly concerned and very professional, very apologetic," Chester Upland School District Superintendent Dr. Craig Parkinson told CBS News. "He definitely made it clear that it was a mistake."
Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky said no charges will be filed.
"It really was just an honest mistake; the addresses are very similar," Gretsky said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer.
FedEx did not respond to a request for comment.
According to CBS, the guns were meant to be delivered to an auto repair shop, which has a similar address to the school. The outlet said a total of six guns were delivered to the school, each in separate packages. The Inquirer reported that a total of 30 rifles were delivered.
The police department could not be reached to clarify the discrepancy, as its phone repeatedly returned a busy signal. The superintendent did not immediately respond to an email from Insider.
The weapons were reportedly manufactured by Springfield Armory, which bills them as "a semi-automatic rifle inspired by the classic US Military M14," with the retail price ranging from $1,700 to more than $2,400 each.
In 2019, two students were shot and wounded near Chester High School just after classes ended. Two 15-year-olds were also killed by gunfire in 2020 while playing basketball in a nearby neighborhood.
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