NORTH FORSYTH — Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies pulled over a vehicle Sunday afternoon they thought was connected to an armed robbery in the nearby city of Alpharetta, officials said.

Upon visually searching the vehicle, deputies deemed the five-person family wasn’t connected to the crime, said Robin Regan, a spokesman for the agency.

This realization did not occur, however, until the two parents and their 17-year-old son had been handcuffed as part of “felony stop procedure.”

The family does not live in Forsyth County, said Doug Rainwater, also a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

He could not comment on how many deputies responded to the scene at Exit 15 on Ga. 400, although the agency’s incident report listed four.

The report stated the family —which also included two girls, ages 7 and 10, who weren’t cuffed — was released after deputies failed to find red or gray sweatshirts that matched those of the suspects, as well as any stolen purses.

Rainwater declined further comment on the matter, noting that it was under investigation by the agency’s internal affairs unit.

The traffic stop Sunday afternoon attracted a lot of attention and speculation in the north Forsyth area, including the thought that the robbery victim’s car had been stolen by the suspects.

However, George Gordon, a spokesman for the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, said his agency’s incident report did not indicate there was a carjacking, only an armed robbery.

Forsyth’s report also only indicated an armed robbery.

The incident had been reported a short time earlier on Ga. 400 in between Windward and McFarland parkways near the Forsyth-Fulton county line.

When a “full-size black-colored truck” sideswiped a Mini Cooper on Ga. 400, both drivers got out to assess the damage, Gordon said. One suspect then reportedly pulled out a firearm and grabbed a purse from the other driver’s car.

Gordon said the initial call came in to Forsyth County, whose dispatch asked if any Alpharetta officers were nearby.

As of Tuesday afternoon, he was unaware if the suspects had been apprehended.