Gun-Toting Mannequin Challenge Leads to Arrests in Alabama (VIDEO)

In Huntsville, Alabama, 22 men participated in the viral-video craze that started in a Florida high school in which a group of people are filmed posed as motionless mannequins. Their twist on the formula was the addition of pistols and shotguns, in an apparent staging of a drive-by shooting. 

The video caught the attention of local authorities. According to Captain Mike Salomonsky of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation uncovered that marijuana was being made available for purchase in the house featured in the video. Salomonsky also asserted that several people in the video "may be convicted felons." The local police acquired a search warrant and a SWAT team raided the house.

"We used a breaching technique which caused the front door to be removed from the residence," Salomonsky told WHNT. "They encountered one subject that was in the front room and he was armed. But, he told them he was armed."

WHNT reported that the raid led to the confiscation of pistols, a shotgun, an assault rifle with several magazines, a bulletproof vest, several packages of marijuana, a computer, and various pieces of ammunition.

The raid also led to the arrests 49-year old Kenneth White, who has now been charged with first-degree possession of marijuana and 'certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm,' and 23-year-old Terry Brown, who has been charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, promoting prison contraband, and loitering. Brown’s charges are misdemeanors, but the charges levied against White suggest that he is a convicted felon. 

Upon being searched at the prison, Brown was charged with possession of a felony amount of marijuana. In Alabama, possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor unless there is a kilogram or greater amount present, or if it is not a first offense, in which case the possession of any amount is a felony.

Salomonsky said that his police department would partner with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to uncover if anyone else in the video is a convicted felon and therefore forbidden to possess a firearm. He expects "one or two" more arrests to be made. 

People from all walks of life, from members of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, to the cast of Dancing with the Stars, to prisoners in the Alabama Department of Corrections, have participated in the Mannequin Challenge. The Huntington shootout Mannequin Challenge video has over 4 million views on Facebook, where it was originally uploaded.