Several children and young people in Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein dialed the emergency number in order to stage an alleged rampage, which almost triggered a large-scale police operation.
As the police reported on Tuesday, the four boys aged 13 to 15 dialed the emergency number 110 from a phone booth on Sunday. They played a smartphone video with gunshot noises and simulated human screams.
According to the police, the officers in the Kiel operations center had to assume an emergency, which is why they were already making preparations for a large-scale operation in the city center.
However, a police car happened to be very close to the phone booth.
The crew quickly cleared the situation and located the group.
The two children who were under the age of criminal responsibility and the two young people were brought to a police station for an "educational talk" in the presence of their parents, as the authority announced.
They also initiated complaints, among other things, of abuse of emergency calls and faking criminal offenses.
The parents of the callers also have to pay the costs of the police operation.