Report: 'NCIS' Actors Sue CBS, Claim They Were Nearly Killed During Filming

CBS is being sued by two "NCIS: New Orleans" actors who claim they were nearly killed while filming a jewelry robbery that was so lifelike it prompted heavily armed police officers to storm the scene and hold them at gunpoint.

The Daily Mail reports that the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by actors Justin T. Lebrun and Bradford Roublow, as well as store owner Sulemon Virani, claims the network failed to obtain proper permits and to notify law enforcement and neighboring stores of the heist scene. It twas filmed at a strip mall along West Judge Perez Drive in St. Bernard Parish on October 18, 2017, reported the Daily Mail.

The owner of a neighboring store reportedly mistook the scene as a real robbery and called 911. Dozens of armed SWAT team officers swarmed the jewelry store where filming was taking place and held the actors at gunpoint, according to the filing. They then allegedly pushed Lebrun and Roublow to the ground and handcuffed them.

The plaintiffs claim that officers later told them police were "coming to kill you" and they were seconds away from being shot dead. Roublow and Lebrun have since been experiencing "significant emotional and psychological trauma due to the near-death experience," the lawsuit states.

According to the two actors, they were under the impression that CBS had obtained all necessary permits and would follow safety protocols when they, along with Virani, were approached by "NCIS" producers to participate in the armed robbery scene.

"CBS, in order to get a 'guerilla style' realistic shot for one of its flagship shows, tricked and misled Mr. Virani, Mr. Roublow, and Mr. LeBrun, and nearly got them killed," the suit claims.

Virani further claims his store has lost a significant amount of business since the incident after "word of mouth spread that it had been the site of a brazen daylight armed robbery," according to the filing.

"The perils of 'guerilla-style' television and film production are well known in the industry, and that’s why we have laws regulating productions," the suit states. "CBS, a major corporation making millions from this hugely profitable show, flouted those laws and put Mr. Virani, Mr. Roublow, and Mr. LeBrun in great peril."