Made-For-Film Holdup Attracts Real Police

Life imitated art when four high school students planning their cop-sand-robbers movie at a McDonald’s found themselves surrounded by police.

The students had written the script for their Spanish class at Torrey Pines High School. The plot was pretty standard: sophomore Johnny Huang and his friend would catch two robbers with a pellet gun.

But a customer at the McDonald’s Wednesday thought the gun was real. Within minutes, San Diego police and sheriff’s officers converged on the restaurant, looking for an armed gunman.

Johnny and his three friends left the restaurant, and encountered a police officer crouched in the bushes, aiming his gun at them.

“They said: ‘Get out of there! Move!’ Huang said. “We thought, ‘Someone’s robbing McDonald’s!”’ The foursome didn’t think it had anything to do with them, so they kept walking. They got into Huang’s car and began driving away. That’s when about 10 officers surrounded the car with their guns drawn.

The students were handcuffed, questioned and then released.

Huang’s $175 pellet gun was impounded. But he says he needs it back: his film is due today.