Kaiserslautern police responded to a call of a masked gunman in the city center on Aug. 10, 2025. They found two people dressed as SWAT team members and carrying a toy rifle following a manga cosplay event in the Japanese Garden nearby. (Jochen Tack/Mettman police)

Manga fans unintentionally caused a bit of a ruckus on Sunday afternoon after police received a report of a masked gunman in the city center.

Officers stopped two people on Lauterstrasse and discovered that the “SWAT commandos” were carrying a toy rifle as a cosplay prop, a Kaiserslautern police statement Monday said.

The comics enthusiasts had been participating in a cosplay event in the Japanese Garden nearby.