Milk cans thrown on the ground trigger a shooting at a Colorado shopping center

LAKEWOOD, Colorado (KKTV) – Masked boys screaming in a food court and a few jugs of milk caused panic at a Denver-area mall Friday night.

The situation began shortly before 6 p.m. at Colorado Mills in Lakewood, when numerous customers called 911 to report gunshots inside the mall. Several of the callers said someone was on the ground.

11 News sister station CBS Denver received a social media post from someone who was at the mall at the time describing people running out of the building in panic, fearing a shooting spree.

Both Lakewood police and Jefferson County sheriffs responded and, with the help of mall security, searched the building for more than an hour while the mall was on lockdown. They found no victims or any signs that a shooting had ever occurred, CBS Denver reported.

On Saturday, Lakewood police said the entire incident was the result of a prank gone wrong.

“After further investigation, it appears that a group of youths attempted to play a prank on a friend,” police wrote on social media.

According to witnesses, police learned that three masked boys jumped on chairs in the catering area and started screaming.

“Apparently they threw several milk cans on the ground, which caused the loud noises,” police said.

Two of the three boys were tracked down and charged with disturbing the peace.

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