Three movie theater pranksters in suburban Toronto discovered you cant yell someone has a gun in a crowded cinema to generate social media clickbait, especially if theres no gun.

In a riff on free speech not including falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater, Durham Regional Police on Tuesday said three young men had been arrested outside a 24-screen Landmark Cinemas theater complex in Whitby, Ontario, on March 17, 2026, after anxious patrons ran for the exits. After an investigation, the trio was charged with causing a disturbance and mischief. Comical movie theater pranks have become a growing genre on social media platforms, but this suburban Toronto incident had legal implications. The Durham Regional Police said its officers responded to an armed person call at the movie theater and were directed to three young men spotted outside the multiplex.

Customers were forced to leave a movie theatre after several males yelled that someone was in possession of a firearm, a police media release states. Further investigation revealed that the males were creating social media content and had intentionally created a false disturbance to generate a reaction they could film, the Durham Regional Police added.

No injuries were reported after the gun scare, but their quest for attention netted the criminal charges against two 23-year-olds, Fique Wamiq Ayub and Jaiden Joseph-Anthony Mosquera, and a 17-year-old who cant be named as hes considered a minor.

Police appealed for help from the public as part of their allegedly criminal movie theater prank case against the three men.