A prank call about a gas leak at the Murfreesboro IHOP restaurant caused the manager to evacuate the dining room and spray the restaurant with fire extinguishers.
The call came during the busy lunch rush Monday afternoon and forced diners to leave their meals on the table, and leave the restaurant.
"We applaud their efforts to evacuate the restaurant. Take gas leaks very seriously, or calls of gas leaks very seriously," said Kyle Evans with the Murfreesboro Police Department.
The caller also advised the manager to spray all the tables in the dining room with fire extinguishers to prevent an explosion.
"The manager, not knowing any better, just followed those directions, which unfortunately resulted in thousands of dollars in damage to the restaurant's property," according to Evans.
When the manager left the restaurant she noticed two women in the parking lot recording the incident on their phones.
"Then they got into their car and were laughing as they drove off. It was at this time the manager realized they had been pranked," Evans said.
Witnesses said the two women left the IHOP parking lot in a white Chevrolet Malibu.
A short time later a similar incident took place at the IHOP in near-by Smyrna.
Murfreesboro Police are investigating this prank as a felony crime because of the amount of damage the prank caused inside the restaurant.
"Thousands of dollars worth of damage, and causing a lot of resources to be tied up during very busy time. So it's something if we find out who's responsible for this, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent," Evans explained.
A motel employee in Columbia, Mo was also the victim of a gas leak prank call. The caller told him to avoid an explosion he had to break out the windows at the hotel. The employee did break two of the motel's windows.
