A family from Tilburg had the shock of their lives while driving through Amsterdam after their car was surrounded by six police cars with sirens blaring and they were ordered to get out and kneel on the ground.

Police used a megaphone to order the family of three and two friends out of the car and to kneel on the ground with their hands behind their heads, the Brabants Dagblad reports.

The police response was triggered by the family’s three-year-old son, who was waving a toy gun out of the roof. Police say their action was in line with standard procedure. The car had dark windows and just the barrel of the gun was sticking out, a spokesman told the paper.

The car was also carrying two friends of the family, one of whom was 31 weeks pregnant. She was so shocked by the incident, which took place on Saturday, that she started having contractions, broadcaster RTL news said.

The driver of the car, named as Anwar Chakir, was handcuffed and arrested. Police soon realised they had made a mistake and released the group. ‘I hope my son never has to go through something like this again,’ Chakir told the paper.

The toddler had won the gun at the Tilburg fair on Friday.