Sheriff’s deputies who mistook an exploding cigarette lighter for gunfire dived to the ground and called in reinforcements, shutting down a neighborhood for hours.

“We have a lot of unusual things happen in our business, and we expected the unexpected. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Robert Craton said.

The lighter belonged to one of two people stopped midday Wednesday for loitering and drinking alcohol in Zapopan Park. During questioning, “a lighter was placed on the hood of a radio car,” sheriff’s Capt. Richard Shaw said.

“The Bic lighter exploded, and shrapnel went everywhere,” Shaw said. “Two deputies and the suspects went down to the ground. They all believed they were being fired on.”

Reinforcements were called in and the neighborhood was locked down for two hours. Deputies clutching shotguns and pistols leaned on squad cars and a command post went up at a nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot.

Paramedics and dozens of deputies were on hand as helicopters buzzed the area. Two hours later, a special enforcement officer discovered the culprit - the Bic lighter.

Source: KansasCity

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