Los Angeles police detain group defending store on live television, while would-be burglars flee

• In a surreal scene, Los Angeles police detained a group of innocent people while a local reporter screamed that they were letting the would-be burglars get away.
• Police were responding to a confrontation between two groups: men who appeared to be trying to burglarize a nearby gold store, and others — some armed — who were trying to scare them off.

In what a local newscaster termed "one of the most surreal moments" in an increasingly surreal time, Los Angeles police were seen on live television briefly detaining a group of people that had been attempting to deter what was described as would-be robbers, including the woman who had flagged them down.

Reporting from the streets of Van Nuys, a reporter for Fox 11 Los Angeles captured a tense scene: one group of people approaching a store, while another group — including armed men — sought to scare them off.

When police finally responded to the scene, it was the latter group that the reporter identified as the business owners that were immediately detained — two of whom are black. The apparent burglars were pursued on foot, while Fox's correspondent screamed that cops were arresting the wrong people.

Insider reached out to LAPD for comment and will update as necessary.

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