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Four 'gangsters' and a wedding

Four would-be gangsters and a wedding photographer called Cobra sparked a full-scale police alert yesterday morning.
Aaron Trotter and his groomsmen had no idea their bit of wedding-morning frivolity with fake guns would be mistaken for the real thing by Christchurch police.
The wedding party was acting out a fake drug deal for some quirky wedding photos when an alarmed passer-by called the police. More than 10 police units blocked traffic while armed officers observed and called out to the wedding party as its members walked into the old stockyards off Deans Avenue at 9.35am. Wedding photographer Guillaume Hoffmann, known as Cobra, planned the photo shoot and admitted it looked pretty authentic.
"We arrived and the boys had bad-boy sunglasses on, all in black, bling-bling around their necks, and we had (replica) guns. Unfortunately we did it right in the public view at the Addington sale yards, because it looked good and rough," he said.
Two passers-by were alarmed when they saw a group of men with guns and knives at their throats, and decided to alert the police.
"We went inside an old building and suddenly everything went quiet – there were no cars driving by. I poked my head out the window to have a look," Cobra said. They were surrounded by armed police waiting for their next move.
Cobra said he came out first, making sure his cameras were visible to police. He and the wedding party were ordered to put their hands up and get down on the ground. "It was kind of scary, but only when we realised what was happening and we hit the ground with our hands on our heads and we saw the real guns," Cobra said.
He did not blame the police or the passers-by for taking the incident seriously. "I'd do it again, but I'll call the cops next time," Cobra said.
Senior Sergeant Kelvin Burgess, of the Christchurch police, said people should have more sense and take care when using imitation firearms.
"At least advise police of what you are doing. We'll still have to check it out, but at least it won't be a surprise to us," he said.
The bride-to-be, Sharon MacKay, was anxious to catch up with her groom after hearing about the events. "I have no idea how they are feeling, I can't wait to talk to them. Next week they'll be buzzing," she said before the wedding.
The couple were married at 2pm at the Tai Tapu church.
(Bron)