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What was first believed to be a running gun battle sparked when a carload of alleged gang members fired at undercover Anaheim police was actually precipitated when the suspects threw a pomegranate at the officers, authorities said Friday.

The four suspects, who were originally arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, will not be charged with the crime, and police will conduct an internal review of the officers’ actions.

The incident occurred on a busy Fullerton street Wednesday night and was originally investigated as a running gun battle. But Fullerton police said they could find no evidence that the alleged gang members fired at the police officers, who were in the city on an unrelated drug investigation.

“They thought they were being shot at,” said Fullerton police Sgt. Joe Klein, adding that the officers’ undercover garb made them look like gang members. “And it turns out they were not being shot at. [It] looks like it was a pomegranate.”

Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez said his department will soon begin an internal review of the officers’ actions, as is customary after officer-involved shootings.

“The chief of police will assign [the review] to the captain of the unit overseeing the incident,” Martinez said. “He will assemble a shooting review team, and then they will look at the officer-involved shooting aspect of this incident administratively.”

The incident unfolded Wednesday at 5:50 p.m. when officers in Anaheim’s undercover narcotics unit were confronted by two suspected gang members riding in a green Volkswagen. According to Fullerton police, the suspects challenged the two officers.

“They went up to them and said, ‘Where you guys from? What gang do you belong to? What are doing in the neighborhood?’ ” Klein said. “In gang culture, this is to be expected.”

When the undercover agents were leaving the area, they noticed two additional suspected gang members following them in a white Chevy Suburban. As the officers sped away, their car was struck by one or more objects that they believed to be gunfire, said Fullerton police Lt. Michael Maynard.

“Fearing for their safety, they returned gunfire,” Maynard said.

The southeast section of Fullerton where the shooting occurred is notorious as an area claimed by the Fullerton Tokers Town, the city’s oldest known gang that’s been around since the 1920s, Maynard said.

“Gangs are very territorial. It’s not unusual for them to confront people they believe may be rival gang members from outside their area,” Maynard said.