A movie theater in Missouri hired a fake gunman to attend a screening of Iron Man 3 during the film’s opening weekend. While management was defending it, people feared the worst and police had to respond to 911 calls. The theater later issued an apology.

The incident took place at the Goodrich Capital 8 Theaters in Jefferson City. According to ABC 17, the fake gunman showed up in full tactical gear, carrying a fake weapon. Moviegoers, remembering the tragedies in Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut, feared that it was a real gun and many called police to the theater.

"We had just finished watching Iron Man 3,” retired Army officer John Molock told ABC 17. “We're just getting into the car when I spotted a man in full assault gear, carrying what appeared to be a modified M-4 and 9 mm on his side.”

While Molock wasn’t among the theatergoers who called police, Capt. Doug Shoemaker said they had received a “series of 911 calls.” Shoemaker added that police were also prepared for the worst.

The person with the fake weapon turned out to be an actor dressed as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the movie and Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins defended the move. He said that it was planned in advance and only a few moviegoers were upset. ABC 17 asked if he had considered the shootings and he said he did. “That's my number-one priority every day,” he said. “It's the safety and security of our guests.”
Wilkins also told The Riverfront Times that, “There was no scenario that could have possibly been misconstrued for dangerous at all except for this one random overreacting guy.... It was a clear, plastic toy gun.”

According to The Huffington Post, the theater management later issued a formal apology on its Facebook page explaining that it was a stunt and that it won’t happen again.

The statement reads:

”We apologize and are sympathetic to those who felt they were in harm’s way with our character promotion for Iron Man 3. This was not a publicity stunt. We have worked with the Cosplacon group on many movies to dress up and help entertain our customers. We have had many complaints about the members dressed specifically as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives carrying fake guns. We didn’t clearly tell our customers and some people didn’t realize it was for entertainment purposes only. We apologize that police were called to come out to our theater. We have a wonderful working relationship with the Jefferson City Police Department. Going forward we will take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Security and safety for our customers is our number one priority.”