It was 7:19 a.m., prime time for coffee. But something didn't look right inside the Classic Coffee in Glendora.

In fact, what a passerby observed scared her enough to call 911: two armed men in hoodies, wearing bandanna masks and gloves. Officers, of course, rushed to the scene guns blazing:

One of the guys immediately dropped his weapon, the Glendale Glendora Police Department says in a statement. But the other didn't comply and was almost shot, cops say:

Officers entered the coffee shop and encountered an armed “suspect” with a handgun who did not follow the commands of officers to “drop the gun.” A second “suspect” dropped the AR-15 assault rifle on the ground when he saw officers. … Officers quickly disarmed the “suspect” with the handgun who was nearly shot had it not been for the professionalism, excellent training and skill level of Glendora Police Officers.

The “suspects?” Actors in an amateur, unpermitted film shoot, the department says. The weapons? Fakes — air guns without the orange tips that are required so police know what they're dealing with in just such a situation.

It all happened yesterday at 148 N. Glendora Ave.


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Police say the film crew got the permission of a manager of the shop, and that the manager failed to notify the local authorities that men with guns would be standing around during coffee time.

The Glendora PD:

The actions of all involved nearly resulted in Glendora officers using justified but tragic deadly force. This information is being disseminated to inform the community that what many observed this morning as a violent takeover-type robbery was, in fact, a film crew not authorized by the city that nearly resulted in a tragic officer-involved shooting.

Whew.

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