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, Business Insider reports.

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.