VIRAL VIDEO: Woman thinks she's being robbed in Louisville, gets engaged instead

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Getting engaged can be a frightening prospect, but not usually in the way a Marion County woman experienced it. Video of her unusual marriage proposal is capturing the world's attention because she initially thought she was being robbed on a Louisville street.

Amanda Wheatley was led to believe she and her boyfriend Taylor Myers had won a gift card for a restaurant in the Highlands neighborhood, so on Feb. 28 they made the 65 mile trip from Lebanon to Louisville to enjoy a free meal.

Immediately after getting out of their car, though, Taylor and Amanda were confronted by four men near the intersection of Highland and Baxter Avenues. One of them asked, "What you got in your pocket?" making it seem as though the couple was being robbed.

Moments later, a man wearing a bright yellow police vest rode up on a bicycle and asked, "Guys, is there a problem?"

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One of the would-be robbers piped up, responding, "Yeah, he said he had a gun," turning the tables on Taylor and making it seem as though he was trying to hold up the group of strangers.

Another of the men said, "We were walking up the street minding our own business."

MOBILE USERS: Watch the proposal here

Amanda tried to defend her boyfriend, but the men insisted she was lying.

Finally, the "officer" made Taylor put his hands behind his back and pretended to handcuff him, but placed a ring box in his hand instead. He then told Taylor to get on his knees.

At that point, the group of "robbers" began singing, "Look at me I'm on my knees 'cause I want to marry you. Marry you. Everything I'll ever need is right here in front me, too. Talkin' 'bout you."

A shocked Amanda quickly rested against a wall, threw her belongings to the ground and covered her eyes.

As the quartet, known as Linkin' Bridge, continued their song, Taylor took Amanda's hand and asked, "Will you marry me?" She nodded her head in the affirmative. The lovebirds kissed and exchanged "I love yous" before the "cop," Louisville prankster Tom Mabe, explained the set up.

"Taylor's a big fan," Mabe said on the video. "He reaches out to me, says, 'Tom, Amanda is such a great girl. She's a great mom. I love her so much, and I want to marry her, but, you know, I just can't afford a wedding, I can't afford a honeymoon, and that's okay. We'll probably trade vows at the courthouse and have lunch somewhere. But I want to do something memorable in the proposal and any help would be great.'"

From there, Mabe enlisted the assistance of Linkin' Bridge, Shane Co. jewelers, and the Louisville Metro Police Department in pulling off the stunt.

The video, which was featured on the TV show Inside Edition, has been viewed nearly 12 million times on the Facebook page of the British website unilad.co.uk and more than 140,000 times on Mabe's YouTube channel MabeInAmerica, where he promises that $1 will be donated to charity every time the video is shared.

Mabe is known for his many pranks, including this one involving a flying skeleton that terrified people across Louisville just before Halloween 2013.

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