VALDOSTA — Four teens learned that “just playing around” with guns can land them in serious trouble.

At about 6:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a West Hill Avenue hotel on a phone call about a possible robbery, a Valdosta Police Department statement said. The caller said two men were holding handguns on two women, forcing them into a hotel room.

Officers went to the room while another officer watched the hotel’s surveillance video. The video showed two men standing in front of a hotel room pointing handguns in different directions; a vehicle pulled up and both men pointed their handguns at the vehicle, police said.

The officer viewing the video saw the two women go into the room while handguns were pointed at them.

Police entered the room and found the two men and the two women. All four of them said they were “just playing around” and no robbery took place. The two men and one of the women were 17, while the other woman was 19, the statement said. The 19-year-old is from Brooks County while the rest are from Lowndes.

Three of the group already had active arrest warrants against them; one is charged with felony possession of a firearm under first offender while two are charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct. All four were taken to the Lowndes County Jail.

“This incident is very disturbing that teenagers think it is a joke to point handguns at each other,” Police Chief Leslie Manahan said in a statement. “We are extremely lucky that no one was injured during this incident. Handguns are not toys and should not be treated as such. I am glad our officers were able to get these handguns off the street and out of the hands of these teenagers.”

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.