TV Shoot Brings Fake Gunfire to Monrovia Grocery Store

Gunfire erupted outside a Monrovia grocery store Wednesday when a TV production crew fired off fake rounds during filming of an episode of a new show called Hostage: Do or Die.

The shoot began Wednesday morning at on Duarte Road and was permitted through Wednesday night, city spokesman Dan Bell said. The production company issued notices to nearby residents to warn them of the fake gunfire.

"We just made them notify the neighbors so that no one thought it was real or actual gunfire," Bell said. "Any time we're filming we want people to be as informed as possible. It's blanks but it sounds like real gunfire."

The crew could be seen filming outside the store Wednesday afternoon. In one scene, an older man with bullets strapped to his chest sat in a car and aimed a shotgun at three younger actors exiting the store. Loud simulated gunfire could be heard as the three actors dropped one-by-one.

The grocery store's entire inventory had been removed for the shoot.

The show is a new Discovery Channel series that tells crime stories "from the perspective of hostage negotiators, victims, witnesses and sometimes even the criminals themselves," according to tv.com.