A young girl was filmed crying tears of joy as she opened a present - and found out she was the proud owner of a shotgun.

The video was posted on Facebook by weapon manufacturer Beretta, which described the girl's reaction as 'touching'.

But it sparked horror for many, who questioned the wisdom of allowing a child so young to have a gun.

The young girl, named Presley, cried with joy as she realized what she had been given

The young girl, named Presley, was bursting with joy as she realized what she had been given, stating: 'Oh my goodness, this is crazy. Oh my, I can't breathe.'

Beretta boastfully wrote alongside the footage: 'Making memories starts the moment you open your first 686.

'A touching video sent by Presley's parents, shows the emotional moment when she realizes she finally has her very own 686 Silver Pigeon.'

Hundreds of people have commented on the video, which has been shared thousands of times

Among the shocked commenters was Valeria Milito, who wrote: 'I hoped till the end it was a guitar, a keyboard, a snowboard, ANYTHING ELSE. But, hey, you're right: who would waste his time teaching kids something smart when you can give them weapons and teach them how to kill? America is such a BRILLIANT country, destined for destruction.'

Katya Longhi, wrote: 'This message is horrible!!! Kids should cry for puppies or for a new game, or for a beautiful present, but not for a gun! I'm so sorry, but this is horrible!!!

'I think that because I'm Italian, and here we are scared about the weapons, that can kill someone! This shouldn't exciting for a child, I'm sorry -.-'

Angela Zöe Olverson posted: 'What on earth?? In England children cry with joy after receiving pets as surprise presents or even a ticket to Disney Land. Guns are no toy for youngsters of that age.'

But another poster, Matt Kelley, was not alarmed by the present and said that responsible gun ownership should be encouraged.

He wrote: 'This young lady will one day be a survivor and will be a better person because her family has taught her the values that our fore fathers of this country valued deeply enough to pass along to us centuries ago.'

And Catherine Jasin wrote: 'I think it's awesome she is passionate about shooting sports. If you raise them to respect guns it's no different than buying them a car. Is a car dangerous if you don't know how to use it or fail to abide by the laws, absolutely. Shame on the people saying such nasty things. Educate yourselves. In my home state of Wisconsin, more than 598,000 citizens went rifle hunting this year with zero fatalities. Kinda throws your arguments out the window!'