The National Rifle Association stepped in to give a 4-year-old boy a Nerf gun for Christmas after a mall Santa sent the boy away crying for requesting the toy.
“Mall Santa didn’t want to give Michael a Nerf gun for Christmas and made him cry,” the NRA said on Twitter, accompanied by a video of young Michael DeCarlo receiving the Nerf gun. “The @NRA made it our mission to fix this and make Michael’s Christmas the best EVER.”
Mall Santa didn’t want to give Michael a Nerf gun for Christmas and made him cry.
The @NRA made it our mission to fix this and make Michael’s Christmas the best EVER. pic.twitter.com/wpGAzcpqAs
— NRA (@NRA) December 14, 2020
“Mean Santa won’t be happy I have this,” DeCarlo said in the NRA video before having a Nerf gun battle with Santa in his house.
This month, DeCarlo asked a Santa Claus at the Harlem Irving Plaza shopping center in Illinois for a Nerf gun for Christmas but was denied and sent away crying.
“No, no guns,” the Santa could be heard saying in a video taken of the incident. The boy’s mother then clarified the request, saying, “A Nerf gun.”
“Nope, not even a Nerf gun,” Santa replied in the video. “Nope. If your dad wants to get it for you, that’s fine, but I can’t bring it to you.”
He continued: “What else would you like? There’s lots of other toys. There’s Legos. There’s bicycles. There’s cars and trucks. What do you think?”
DeCarlo then began to cry as his mother, Sabella DeCarlo, attempted to console him.
In a Facebook statement, the mall and a third-party Santa company said they were “distraught and deeply apologetic” about the incident.
“The Santa company will continue to remind all Santa’s how important it is to not impose personal opinions during visits with the children,” the statement said.
The mall said the Santa who denied DeCarlo’s request has resigned.
“I am so grateful for all of the people who reached out and sent Nerf guns to Michael. Americans of all backgrounds came together and rallied for my son,” Sabella DeClaro said at the end of the NRA’s video. “We have received hundreds of Nerf guns, and Michael will be distributing those to other little patriots in need.”
The boy’s father, also named Michael, said he was a police officer and lifetime NRA member and thanked the organization for their generosity.
“NRA, thank you for making my family’s Christmas one we will never forget,” he said.
