Maybe They’re Better Prepared For This In Toronto?

A permissive atmosphere leads to confusion:

Cops collared three men with a gun on a SoHo rooftop yesterday — and learned that all they were shooting was a film.

A nervous neighbor spotted the men with what looked like a sniper rifle and called cops, leading dozens of officers to rush to the building and arrest three aspiring filmmakers

Although the gun looked real, it was nothing more than a look-alike rented for the flick.

One of the three was charged with menacing and the others with disorderly conduct.

“We’re just a couple of hobby filmmakers,” said one of the auteurs as he left the First Precinct station house after questioning.

. . .

Witnesses said a woman inside her apartment at 37 King St. saw the men on the roof of 41 King St. next door, prompting her to call 911.

“She thought they were pointing the gun at her,” one witness said.

One of the men, Rafael DiLauro, lives at 41 King, and his father, Louis, owns the building.

DiLauro, 24, along with Sam Maxwell, 23, and Adam Corre, 23, had gone to the roof to shoot a scene — which they planned to use as an application to film school.

Police responded in force, but by then the three had made their way to DiLauro’s basement apartment. The officers busted them there.

The trio was held for hours.

“It sucked,” said DiLauro after he was released.

A police source said the gun “looked as real as it can get,” complete with a tripod and scope.

“It looked like a sniper rifle,” he said.

The buildings are within range of a school and state offices.

“The police said ‘Freeze!’ and they went down on the ground,” said Edgar Londono, the building’s super.

“They were holding a plastic case and a backpack. There were police all over the roofs.”

. . .

Louis DiLauro said the arrest was ridiculous.

“It was a make-believe gun!” he said.

“I rented it myself. I had to give them my credit card, so the police better give it back, or I’ll be charged $1,000.”