Police Halt UT Student’s Different Kind of Shooting [Watch]

By Lynn Freehill in 40 Acres, Special on December 7, 2011 at 6:35 pm | No Comments

UT student film mistaken for LA robbery: kxan.com

Racing through New Mexico Friday night to make it to his UT graduation ceremony Saturday, Aaron Nuñez still couldn’t forget the sight of a police helicopter or the sound of a gun being cocked.

Just a few days before, the film student’s staged crime scene became all too real when L.A. police mistook it for the real thing and burst onto the scene.

In moments, Nuñez and the nine other crew and cast members on set were spread-eagled on the parking lot and handcuffed one by one before police straightened the situation out.

Wearing a ski mask to play a robber, Nuñez had seconds before seen a spotlight, looked up, and realized it was coming from a helicopter. “That’s when I realized—this isn’t good,” he says.

The young indie filmmaker had gotten a permit to film but hadn’t shared it with police, assuming some other agency did that. His advice now? “Definitely notify the police.”

The most ironic part: in the script for the movie, The Lion and the Bull, the main character gets shot by a detective.

Good thing that in this case, life didn’t imitate art.

Photo: From left, Aaron Nuñez, Carlos Medina, and Jonathan Taub. Courtesy Shayan Asgharnia.

Tags: Aaron Nunez, police film shooting, UT film program