CrossFit group jogging past restaurant sparks mass panic and everyone starts running

Charlie Herbert

It is thought the diners thought the CrossFit group was about to rob them

Footage from a restaurant in Brazil has shown the moment that a CrossFit group managed to spark mass panic as they went ran past a restaurant.

On Saturday (24 September) CCTV from Cervejaria Alphaiate bar captured people sat in the establishment’s outdoor seating area in Ed California condo, Brazil.

But when a group of runners pass through, the scene becomes deserted in a matter of seconds as panic ensues, with tables and chairs overturned in the chaos.

Even the restaurant’s staff can be seen following the group, after a moment of confusion as they try to work out was is going on.

Footage of the bizarre incident was shared on Twitter by one user, and has racked up almost 8 million views on the platform.

E os clientes de um bar da zona sul de Recife que acharam que tava rolando arrastão quando na verdade era a turma do crossfit correndo na rua? pic.twitter.com/TlX6gJjpzb

— Bernardo (@BernardoBcabral) September 22, 2022

The video has also gone viral on Reddit, where several tried to explain what may have caused the panic.

One user suggested that the group thought they were victims of an ‘arrastão.’

They explained that this is “a type of crime where a group of thieves runs across gathered people robbing their valuables at gunpoint,” adding it’s “very common on Rio de Janeiro beaches.”

This was backed up on Twitter by others.

https://twitter.com/floresdepapel6/status/1573788338238226437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1573788338238226437%7Ctwgr%5Ed294439d54c0eb8c30107f963e80dc3b9b0618df%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unilad.com%2Fnews%2Fcrossfit-group-mass-panic-restaurant-20220925

Doctor Amyr Kelner, who said she was at the restaurant when the panic broke out, told G1: “It was very fast. People were coming slowly, then, when they got close to our table, they started running.

“I told my friend to call and hold her bag. She got up and, at that moment, someone shouted that it was a robbery.

“That’s when I got up, shouted that it was also a robber and ran away.”

Eventually, the runners reassured the panicked diners that they were just a CrossFit group and in fact not trying to rob them.

Dr Kelner continued: “After a few minutes, we saw that nothing was happening. Everyone started laughing and went back to the tables as if nothing had happened.

“When I got up, I put my cell phone and wallet in my pocket. There were people who thought I was pulling out a gun. It’s something to live in a city as insecure as ours.

“Thank God, I’ve never been robbed, nor have I experienced anything like that, but you’re in an extremely dangerous city and you see three people running towards you.”

The restaurant has since clarified that the incident was “nothing more than a misunderstanding.”

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