Authorities in New York City have opened an investigation into a prank after an online video promoting the television show Walking Dead showed actors dressed as zombies reaching out of a sidewalk grate scaring pedestrians.
The video, which has attracted more than 3.2 million views since it was posted online last Wednesday, is the latest stunt set in New York using a prank involving ordinary people to promote a movie or television show.
The video features actors crammed under a sidewalk grate reaching through the metal bars.
That has prompted an investigation because the producers of the stunt did not have permission to use the grate, which belongs to the Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA).
"We are deeply troubled by this video," an MTA spokeswoman said in a statement.
"We have forwarded it to the (New York Police Department) and are also conducting our own investigation."
The promotion for Walking Dead comes after a similar video was posted online in January featuring a robot "devil baby" in a stroller scaring New Yorkers as part of an advertisement for the movie Devil's Due.
The video has garnered more than 42 million views since it was posted on YouTube.
