Rapper 50 Cent is not pleased with Culper Precision, a Utah-based gun company whose Glock 19 named “Block19” comes with a case that could be built out of Lego blocks.
“This looks like they are trying to market guns to the kids,” the “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” rapper wrote in the caption of a since-deleted Instagram post that was uploaded on Wednesday, July 14. “This is not ok cops will start shooting little kids playing in the park.”
According to the company’s president, Brandon Scott, the “Block19” is a customization, featuring red, yellow and blue Lego-like pieces on the barrel and the grip, giving the fully functional firearm the appearance of a toy. However, it is only available to people who’ve already purchased the “Gen 3 or 4 Glock 19.” News of this latest product reignited a conversation surrounding Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black boy shot and killed by former police officer Timothy Loehmann outside a Cleveland recreation center in 2014.
Loehmann, a rookie at the time, was responding to a call of someone with a fireman, though the caller noted that the gun was “probably fake.” Within seconds of arriving on the scene, Loehamnn shot Rice, who was sitting alone. The shooting was ruled as justified, and Loehmann was not charged with any wrongdoing. Instead, he was fired from the force, not for killing Rice but for lying on his application to the Cleveland department.
Many took to their social media pages recalling Rice’s story, including one Twitter user who wrote, “Tamir Rice had a toy gun. He was shot and killed by cops 😡💔😢.”
“Gun manufacturers are evil to the core for doing this. It took cops 12 seconds to kill Tamir Rice for playing with a toy gun. This is horrific.”
“A real gun that is made purposely to look like a toy. What could go wrong in a gun crazy America?” expressed a third.
Precision has since taken down the new customized pistol’s product page, following a cease-and-desist letter from Lego. In a statement obtained by CBS, the Danish toymaker wrote, “We have contacted the company, and they have agreed to remove the product from their website and not make or sell anything like this in the future.”
Precision, in turn, seemingly addressed Lego’s statement, writing, “We here at Culper Precision are grateful for the attention that Block19 is currently getting across the globe. It seems that no matter what we create in the firearms industry, anti-gunners seem to leverage every true innovation shortly after its release to talk about why guns are bad.”
