Man In Banana Suit Detained After Toting AK-47 In Texas Street

Texas Banana Man Busted For Toting AK-47

Some marketing schemes are just bananas.

An 18-year-old Texas man dressed as a banana was detained Saturday after people reported seeing him at a Beaumont intersection carrying an AK-47 with an attached drum barrel slung across his back. He also had a sign with an arrow on it.

Derek Poe, owner of gun store Golden Triangle Tactical, told KMBT that the stunt was a promotion for the grand opening of his business, which recently changed locations. That fact was apparently lost on concerned passersby, who placed numerous calls to 911 to report the strapped banana.

Beaumont police arrived, temporarily detained the man in the banana suit, and issued a citation for violating a city ordinance that prohibits soliciting next to a road.

The teen might also face criminal charges for displaying the weapon, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Poe, the owner of the store had a run-in with police in December after he was spotted carrying an AK-47 across his back inside the Parkdale Mall, according to KMBT. He told police he was exercising his Second Amendment rights. Mall patrons said they were terrified. The gun was seized, and Poe was charged with disorderly conduct.

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