A university has apologised after two Native American teenagers were pulled out of a campus tour by police because a white mum felt "nervous".
Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, and his 17-year-old brother Lloyd Skanahwati Gray had driven seven hours fro their home to join a tour of Colorado State University on Monday.
But another white parent, who has not been named, called police because she thought their behaviour was "really odd".
The mum said the boys had not responded to her questions about their names and what they wanted to study at the school.
The woman admitted to the dispatcher she may just be "completely paranoid".
Nevertheless, two officers were sent to approach Thomas and Lloyd.
Video released by cops shows them being asked to step away from the tour and empty their pockets.
"The reason we stopped you and talked to you is because someone from the group called and said you guys just kind of came into the group," the officer said.
"They also said they tried to ask you guys questions and you didn’t want to answer questions."
Thomas Gray told the officers that they’d arrived late for the tour and that they hadn’t answered questions because they were shy.
His younger brother offered to find an email confirmation of their reservation on the tour from his phone.
The pair were told to keep their hands out of their pockets and asked to hand over identification.
By the time police let the teens go, the tour had moved on and they decided they would rather go home.
Their mother Lorraine Gray said she believed her sons had been profiled because of their race.
She told CBS News: "I got a frantic phone call from Thomas saying ‘somebody called the police on us because we were quiet’.
"And I couldn’t believe it. I thought he’s just messing with me."
Colorado State University (CSU) has apologised to the boys, refunded them for their costs and offered to bring them back for a VIP tour with all expenses paid.
"This incident is sad and frustrating from nearly every angle, particularly the experience of two students who were here to see if this was a good fit for them," university officials said in an e-mail to students Wednesday.
"As a University community, we deeply regret the experience of these students, while they were guests on our campus."
The incident sparked outrage on social media where many were angry at the white mum who called police.
“Seriously, this says far more about this parent than CSU,” one man wrote on Facebook .
"Utterly ridiculous."
It comes after Starbucks apologised after two black men were arrested while waiting for a meeting.
A manager had refused to let them use the bathroom unless they made a purchase and then called police who said the men were uncooperative.
Following the backlash over the incident, Starbucks closed every single one of its stores for a staff training day.
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