An actor wearing a ski mask and carrying a prop handgun was shot at by an Indiana police officer Tuesday after someone reported a robbery at a bar where a movie was being filmed, authorities said.
No one was injured after the shot was fired at the Back Step Brewing Company in Crawfordsville, Indiana State Police said. When Crawfordsville police arrived on the scene they saw a masked “subject” backing out of the door of the bar and holding a gun, state police said. The subject was later identified as Jim Duff. State police said the Crawfordsville police allegedly told the would-be robber to drop the gun. The actor turned toward police, who “felt their lives were in danger and fired at the suspect," state police said.
“The subject dropped the gun and pulled off the mask while telling the officers this is a movie set,” state police said in a news release.
The film crew and other actors were inside at the time of the confrontation, authorities said.
The film company, Montgomery County Movies, and the bar did not notify police or local businesses of plans to film in the area, state police said.
A bartender who answered the phone at Back Step said the business was unable to make a statement until police finish their investigation.
Duff was placed into custody until “the story could be authenticated.” He was later released.
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“As I came out of the brewery and saw the officers, I quickly complied and threw off the mask and dropped the gun,” Duff reportedly told the Journal Review. “The next thing I know I heard a gunshot and something buzz by my head.”
In an emailed statement Philip Demoret, who owns Montgomery County Movies, thanked the police department for a "hasty response" to what they thought was a crime being committed.
"Had it been a real robbery, the police were quick to the scene, and the situation would have been diffused promptly. Movie officials did not physically see what transpired outside the location, except for what was visible through the glass doors entering the establishment," the statement reads. "During the scene, a masked robber was suppose to flee the place after being intimidated by the patrons inside. Once outside, from what witnesses could hear and see, the actor complied with the police, removed his mask, and a gunshot was fired."
The company said it is working with local law enforcement to put a plan in place "so this doesn't happen again."
A spokesman for the Crawfordsville Police Department deferred any comment on the matter to the Indiana State Police.
An investigation was ongoing.
