CROMWELL, Conn. — Saturday night, some tense moments inside a Cromwell pizza place, where a Middletown man rushed in and demanded dough... and he was not talking about pizza.
The owner of Wooster St. Pizza says he didn’t notice the suspect coming in because he came through the back door and the kitchen and behind the counter before pointing a gun at the owner.
"He told me like 'I want your money' something like that I couldn’t hear because of the mask and then he’s like pointing this and I said, 'oh this is serious, '" said Wilson Orellana, the owner.
It all went down at approximately 7:45 Saturday evening.
"I grabbed his hand and turned like this and I take it out the gun from him and then he punched me one time in my head," Mr. Orellana said.
Then, the man, 21-year-old Colton Balskus of Middletown, took off running around the restaurant.
"He came around here and then he came over here and then my brother-in-law comes through the door and body slammed him into that rack right there to stop him," said Katerine Orellana , daughter of the owner of Wooster St. Pizza.
After she called 911, Katerine said Balskus told her he needs money to support his two kids and that the gun was not real.
"I’m like' how are we supposed to know that' that looked real," said Katerine Orellana
Police took Balskus into custody and confirmed it was indeed an airsoft gun.
"In the meantime, I’m talking to the kid and I’m trying to calm him down because he’s also delusional he sounded he was slurring his words," Katerine said.
Police hit Balskus, who posted his $150,000 bond, with 8 charges. The owner said he never flinched when staring down the barrel of the gun.
"I don’t have time to think about anything," Wilson Orellana said. "I just reacted like another person."
Police urge business owners to keep themselves, employees, and customers safe, but they do not recommend you try to fight off any suspects.