A gun-shaped iPhone case is a bad idea in general, and doubly so when you take one to the airport. That’s the important life lesson one man learned when police stopped him in London Stansted Airport with what appeared to be a gun that turned out to be his smartphone.
Essex police posted a photo of the poorly thought out iPhone case on Twitter saying, “You have a split second decision to make.”
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You have a split second decision to make … #WhatWouldYouDo #joblikenoother #AirportCops pic.twitter.com/qxiq7OxXjQ
— Essex Police STN (@EssexPoliceSTN) July 6, 2016
The man could be charged with carrying an imitation firearm in a public space or a public order offence, according to the BBC. Considering the case looked like a real gun, the man is lucky the outcome wasn’t far worse.
Police said the iPhone case was discovered during a routine security search and the photo they shared on Twitter was posed. Regardless of exactly where they found the gun iPhone case, it’s a safe bet the man now know for his incredibly poor life choices was hard pressed to catch his flight.
Gun-shaped smartphone cases aren’t new, which makes it all the more surprising someone hasn’t already been shot by police or other gun-toting bystanders for answering a call. Regardless, the case is a bad idea—especially if you’re taking it to the airport.
Just because he owns a “smart phone” doesn’t mean he is very “smart”. Yes. “just because to can, doesn’t mean you should”.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Showing up at an airport with a “gun” in your pocket is stupid, not macho.
correction: “not saying he should do it” – accidental double negative
With all due respect, if a guy is calmly walking around with a gun in plain view in his rear pocket, he’s probably not an urgent security risk.
I’m not saying he shouldn’t do it (especially in an area where weapons are banned), but an open-carry firearm in the back pocket of a calm person is a long way from a “shoot first and ask questions later” situation, and conflating the two suggests that the enforcers show even worse judgement than the offender. People have openly carried weapons for millenia, with only a small fraction being crazed killers.
Hey, you know I work for a living, so I shouldn’t have to open a new window/tab and do a search for a link to an iPhone case shaped like a gun. It should be in the article! c’mon guys! 🙂
Stupid is as stupid does
First, as the Essex police said, “Bringing this to an airport makes it much less likely you’ll catch your plane”. (Love that dry British humour.)
Secondly, as you pointed out, it would have been very understandable if security didn’t wait and just shot his ass.
Third, there are a lot of places in the world where people carry and THEY could have shot his ass. Some jurisdictions in the US even would call this “justifiable” and wouldn’t even indite.
Lastly, he is strutting around acting like he’s carrying a gun. What happens when this poser ends up around people who are carrying real guns? He’s not even carrying a knife to a gun fight. He’s bringing a phone to a gun fight.
Idiot.