Vermont police apologize after terrifying students with mock shooting involving toy guns

Police in Burlington, Vermont, publicly apologized after students were shocked by a reenactment of a robbery that included a “mock shootout.”

About 20 Burlington High School students participating in a forensic science program as part of the Year End Studies (YES) program visited Burlington police on Wednesday, the school district reported WPTZ of Plattsburgh, New York.

During this presentation, the department conducted a shooting simulation using toy weapons and with no warning.

There were “screams and artificial gunshot sounds” and the incident occurred “behind the students’ seats,” the Burlington school district said in a letter to families, WPTZ reported.

“This led some students to believe the demonstration was real and were frightened and confused,” the letter said.

However, the police said their presentation had previously been discussed with those responsible for the YES program.

Burlington police said in a statement Thursday that the role-playing game “involved only three department members simulating a robbery and was not directed against students or faculty.”

Police said Burlington School District staff associated with the YES program contacted the BPD on April 29 to conduct a presentation for students. On May 23, “police department and YES program staff discussed the specifics of the scenarios, including that the training incident would involve ‘the use of mock firearms in a simulated shooting,'” police said.

Police said the department asked if such an incident “would be OK with your group of students. It’s as real as that, and it’s certainly exactly the type of thing we deal with most often.”

YES program staff reportedly responded, “I think these students will do well with this simulation. We will inform parents and students.”

“First and foremost, the Burlington Police Department apologizes to any students in attendance who were upset by the specific scenario and crime scene portion of the presentation,” the police department said.

BPD said its supervisor involved in the presentation reached out to YES program staff to discuss the matter further.

“The BPD will meet with BSD students and staff tomorrow to discuss the presentation and its impact. We hope this can be an opportunity for reflective growth for all involved,” police said.

NBC News has reached out to the district for comment on the ordeal.