Fond du Lac -- A misunderstanding Thursday night involving teenagers carrying airsoft rifles resulted in a potentially dangerous situation.

That’s because the rifles strongly resemble real guns, law enforcement officials said.

The teens had been playing with the airsoft rifles in Hobbs Woods, off Hickory Road south of Fond du Lac, on Thursday when they shot at three girls who were hiking in the woods, said Sgt. Ryan Waldschmidt of Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department.

The airsoft rifles are used recreationally and shoot off a pellet that’ll sting an individual but not penetrate the skin, he said.

One of the girls’ boyfriends called the county Communications Center and simply reported that his girlfriend had been shot and gave a general location as to where the suspects were, Waldschmidt said.

Police, thinking the girl had been shot with a real gun, eventually tracked the teens’ vehicles to Friar Tuck’s, 570 W. Johnson St. The Sheriff’s Department, Fond du Lac Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol responded to the restaurant.

Three area teens were arrested and three others got away on foot, Waldschmidt said.

The incident resulted in a section of West Johnson Street being shut down a short time near Friar Tuck’s, said Capt. Mike Frank of the Fond du Lac Police Department.

Police first learned the airsoft rifles were not real guns when they retrieved them from the suspects’ vehicles at Friar Tuck’s, Waldschmidt said.

Even then, the rifles, Waldschmidt said, resembled real guns. He said that at first glance, an officer would think an individual carrying an airsoft gun was armed and dangerous.

Waldschmidt said orange markings on the guns were covered with black tape, making them look even more realistic.

Authorities plan on questioning the three area teens who got away, he said. They also plan on referring charges to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s office.