Company goes viral after making gun that looks like a cellphone

zainab quadri

March 30, 2016 4:10 PM

A Minnesota start-up company has gone viral after it released a double-barrel .380-caliber handgun, that looks like a cellphone.

Company goes viral after making gun that looks like a cellphone

Kirk Kjellberg, CEO of Monticello-based company Ideal Conceal, said he came up with the idea for the folding pistol when a child caught a glimpse of his gun at a restaurant.

Sometimes you want to carry your gun in peace, but people keep drawing attention to your piece. T

"A boy spotted me in [a] restaurant and said loudly, 'Mommy, Mommy, that guy's got a gun!' And then pretty much the whole restaurant stared at me," Kjellberg told NBC News.

So Kjellberg, who calls himself a "serial inventor," decided to make a gun that wouldn't stand out so much.

He says the Ideal Conceal is the same size as his Galaxy S7 phone with a protective case on it: About 3 inches by 5 inches.

The gun is designed to fold up into a rectangle that bears a strong resemblance to a smartphone, complete with a fake camera.

"So your new pistol will easily blend in with today's environment," the company's website states.

The gun has a plastic frame with a metal interior, meaning it wouldn’t be easy to slip past airport security.

Kjellberg said he’s been contacted by Homeland Security and would gladly pass along x-rays of the weapon to help officers recognize it.

The folding guns will be sold for $395 (150 thousand Naira) , Kjellberg said.

The device has been criticized online as foolish and dangerous. "Yes, let's make it even easier to get a gun into a mall, movie theater, school, office building, etc.," wrote one commenter on KARE 11's Facebook page.

"This is one of the dumbest ideas I've seen."

READ: Gun rights activist shot in the back by her 4-yr-old son

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