Europe Is Worried About American Gun That Looks Like a Cell Phone

According to UK’s The Daily Record, police in Europe are being warned to be on the lookout for illegal imports of a gun that is designed to look like a smartphone. The company, Ideal Conceal, is based in Minnesota. The creator. Kirk Kjellberg, has said that he came up with the idea after a child in a restaurant spotted his gun and said something out loud. The whole restaurant turned to stare at him.

The .380 caliber double barreled pistol “hides in plain sight,” says the company on its website. When locked, the two-shot plastic gun looks like a phone in the pocket. Once the safety is clicked off though, the handle slides down and it is ready to fire. The gun is the same size and roughly the same color as a Galaxy S7 phone with a case on it, about 3 by 5 inches. The gun was invented before the Galaxy S7 recalls, but I haven’t seen anything about a change in the design due to that!

Police in Belgium have been warned to be on the lookout for the gun, which they are worried might be illegally imported into Europe.

We do wonder about how this invention will impact police officer responses, not just abroad but here in the states as well. Remember Amadou Diallo? He was an immigrant from Guinea who was shot in New York by police when they thought his black, square wallet was a handgun. What happens when a suspect tells a police officer that he’s just reaching for his cell phone, but his “cell phone” turns out to be a fully functioning gun? What about criminals approaching people on the street with what looks like a harmless phone? While we 100$ endorse keeping guns concealed and non-identifiable when out in public, we do wonder what the outcome of some of these scenarios will be. This type of gun will be especially appealing to kids, so in our opinion extra vigilance must be used to keep this gun out of the hands of curious children. The gun retails for about $350.

Image from idealconceal.com