SAINT CLOUD, Fla. --
Police said restaurant customers mistook two strangely dressed Osceola County teenagers for robbers.
Investigators said the boys were dressed in black head to toe when they entered restaurants on U.S. 192 and Montana Avenue in St. Cloud to order food. Police said their appearance scared customers into calling 911.
Officers arrived at the scene after 911 callers said a McDonald's was being robbed. Police said they surrounded the restaurant with guns drawn expecting the worst.
"We saw two masked men walking into the McDonald's; their faces were completely covered with black masks," a 911 caller told the operator.
"Your adrenaline starts pumping when you hear there's a robbery in progress. A lot of times you get sent out code 3, which is lights and siren to a call," said Sgt. Kirk Zilke, of the St. Cloud Police Department.
"Police arrived while they were still inside the building and while they were inside, officers surrounded the building," a witness told WFTV.
Witnesses told WFTV that at least eight officers had their guns drawn waiting for the teenagers to exit.
"They had all types of guns out. AK-47 and stuff, it was crazy," said a witness.
But things weren't as expected, police said. The two suspected robbers were actually teenagers who had just finished ordering some food.
"Why were they dressed this way?" asked WFTV reporter Q McCray.
"They said they just wanted to have fun. These kids came out with masks on and we had guns drawn and it could have gone in a bad direction. Luckily things worked out," said Zilke.
Police could have charged the two 17-year-olds with misdemeanor wearing a mask in public but decided not to and said this was all a big mix-up.
The teens were released to their parents.
Copyright 2011 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
