On Saturday around 8:40 p.m. PT, officers were called to an underground parkade at the Guildford mall in Surrey, B.C., after people saw a group of five men wearing masks and holding what appeared to be pistols in their hands.

"The group of males was detained at gun point, and it was determined that the handguns that they had were actually imitation firearms," said a release issued by police.

The release says the men were "just playing around, and could not give any legitimate reason for their actions in the parkade."

It's hard to say what might qualify as a legitimate reason, as the force goes on to say — even if it had been Halloween, it is always a bad idea to don masks and brandish imitation firearms.

Hard to spot the difference

Surrey RCMP has not said if any charges will be recommended for the men, however officers want to remind people that police have trouble distinguishing between real and fake firearms and have no choice but to respond as if the guns are real.