Photos via the Titusville Fire Department / Facebook
Claw machines are a total ripoff, rigged to thwart your chances of walking away from an arcade with some sick prize like a plush Minion or whatever. So you can't really blame the kid who decided to take matters into his own hands when he faced off with one of the dastardly contraptions on Wednesday—weaseling his way into the machine and getting his mitts on all those sweet, sweet stuffed animals inside.But once young Mason had crawled into the toy mecca, the stranger from the outside couldn't manage to escape—forcing the local fire department to schlep over and rescue him from the glass prison. According to the Associated Press, an off-duty firefighter was actually eating at the same Titusville, Florida, restaurant where Mason got himself stuck, and quickly called for backup once he realized the kid was trapped."Thankfully he was never in any distress," the Titusville Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post. "Driver Operator Lane and Firefighter George were able to get Mason out in short order with minimal damage to the game."It took the firefighters about five minutes to rescue Mason, who walked away from the death trap without a scratch, though he was a little embarrassed, the AP reports. As far as crimes perpetrated by children go, the kid could've done a lot worse—something the good folks at Beef O'Brady's Family Sports Restaurant seemed to understand. They let Mason keep whatever the hell it was he climbed into the claw machine to get in the first place, and sent him scurrying back to his mom to finish up their meal in peace."He came out with some toys," the fire department's Battalion Chief Greg Sutton told Florida Today. "He did end up with what he was after."Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.Related: Kids Telling Dirty Jokes: Talin
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