Two officers arrived at a section of train tracks in the area after an emergency call alerted local law enforcement that two young boys were playing near the rails early in the morning.

The railway was forced to halt trains scheduled in the heavily trafficked Baden-Württemberg town due to the boys’ shenanigans, police spokesperson Thomas Gerbert said in a statement.

When they saw the police cruiser, they fled into nearby vineyard, where they were pursued by the two officers, who found them shortly thereafter.

“One of the two boys reacted uncooperatively to the blue uniform of the federal police,” Gerbert said. “He ignored the lecture about the dangers of railway tracks, and instead pulled a knife.”

Officers subdued the boy and confiscated his weapon – a folding knife that can be opened with one hand known as an Einhandmesser in German – then paid a visit to his parents’ home.

Since April 1, 2008 it has been illegal to carry such knives with blades bigger than 12-centimetres in Germany and doing so can cause fines as high as €10,000.