The windows of a Burger King restaurant in Minnesota were intentionally smashed out by its own employees after a prank caller told them that a gas buildup was going to cause an explosion. The prank worked at another Burger King the week before.
The Coon Rapids Burger King received a call on Friday night from someone claiming to be from the local fire department, according to the
Star Tribune, and then Coon Rapids police got a call about 9:30 p.m. saying the restaurant's windows were being broken out.
"Officers arrived and found that the manager and employees of the Burger King were smashing out the windows," Police Sgt. Rick Boone told the Star Tribune. "The manager explained they'd received a phone call from a male who identified himself as a fireman who said there were dangerous levels of gas in the building and they had to break out all the windows to keep the building from blowing up."
A video showing the employees shattering the restaurant's windows has gone viral with more than 690,000 views on YouTube since it was posted on Saturday.
Police Capt. Tom Hawley told the
Pioneer Press that authorities were trying to determine who made the call. The Burger King manager told police the prankster appeared to know about fire prevention systems.
"He seemed to know what he was talking about," Hawley said. "He had her convinced he was a legitimate fire official."
KFOR-TV reported that a caller convinced employees at a Shawnee, Oklahoma Burger King restaurant to break out its window last Thursday, causing about $10,000 in damages.
In February, a prank gas leak call to a Burger King in Morro Bay, California led to $35,000 in damage to the restaurant, according to
The Associated Press. Pranksters also placed calls to a Jack in the Box in Tucson, Arizona and a Wendy's in Phoenix in January, authorities told the wire service.
Boone told the AP there was no cost estimate yet for the damage caused at the Coon Rapids Burger King.
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