HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Squirrel!

Three men who were attempting to eradicate the varmints from a Hot Springs apartment complex Wednesday inadvertently triggered a lockdown at Gardner STEM Magnet School, KCCI reports.

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A Gardner teacher told police she saw three men with rifles running near the front of the building around 8 a.m., so she activated the school’s intruder alarm and contacted administrators. The situation prompted a lockdown and several police departments – as well as a SWAT team – responded to the scene, where they went on a manhunt for the armed intruders, police Cpl. Kirk Zaner told KTHV.

“Investigators said they soon learned that three men from a local pest control company were trying to eradicate squirrels from a nearby apartment complex,” according to the news site.

“The men told police that one of them had fired a pellet rifle at a squirrel found at the apartments but missed. The squirrel apparently ran toward the school, and the men – all armed with the same type of weapon – chased after it.”

The workers said they thought police were responding to a dangerous situation at the school and left the area. They were oblivious to the fact that they triggered the response.

Zaner said the men were not on school grounds, and a school employee said the lockdown lasted about an hour.

“This is the best thing I’ve read today,” Austin posted to KCCI, “I seriously can’t stop laughing.”

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Others on Facebook also seemed to think the situation was punny.

“Squirrels acting nutty again,” Jonathan Echols wrote.