Prank Caller Prompts Burger King Employees to Smash Restaurant's Windows

Officials said 22 windows were broken out of the restaurant with thousands of dollars in damage

A prank caller appears to have been the reason employees at a Minnesota Burger King were caught breaking nearly two dozen windows at the fast food restaurant, police said.

Authorities in Coon Rapids received a called just after 9:30 p.m. Friday that windows were being smashed out at a Burger King restaurant located at 2025 Northdale Boulevard. When police arrived, they discovered the windows were being broken by employees of the restaurant, in an effort to “let out air and prevent the building from exploding,” officials said.

The employees then told police a person called the restaurant a short time earlier claiming to be a fire department official. The caller asked for the restaurant’s manager, then talked with the manager about the restaurant’s fire systems.

“The caller said there was an explosive gas inside the building and that they needed to break the windows to relieve the pressure,” police said in a release.

Officials said 22 windows were broken out of the restaurant with thousands of dollars in damage.

The incident was caught on camera and posted to YouTube over the weekend. The footage shows multiple people walking around the building smashing windows at the restaurant. The video has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. 

(Warning: Video below may contain graphic language)

One employee suffered a minor cut while breaking the windows, authorities said.

Police believe the call was a “prank call,” but the caller has not yet been identified.

“The Coon Rapids Police and Fire Departments WOULD NEVER call a residence or business to ask them to take action of any kind,” police said in the release.

Authorities advised anyone who receives a call from someone claiming to be from a police or fire agency asking them to “take some type of action” to consider it a prank call and call 911.

Contact Us