A Ziyang, Sichuan Province man was visited by police for posting photos on Sina Weibo of himself flashing what turned out to be a fake handgun and gun permit.
Lezhi county police took the man, who was not named, into custody after he posted the series of pictures on Sunday, media reported.
Three of the four photos show the man in a hotel room with the gun pointed to his head.
In the fourth, he appears holding what appears to be a gun license.
The caption read, "Kill Chongzhou tomorrow," which the man explained is a pun in Sichuan dialect that means "going to [the city of ]Chongzhou." The photos have been deleted.
"I am sorry about the bad influence my jokes [have caused] ... and will cooperate with police," he wrote in a follow-up post Monday.
Law enforcement said the man is not a police officer and the gun and permit were fakes.
"This is a plastic gun I bought for 10 yuan ($1.42) from a stall, it's not a deadly weapon, I do not own a gun permit, this is just a picture I downloaded online," the man posted Monday.
