A California man allegedly walked into the the kitchen of a pizzeria holding lighter fluid, a large knife, and the leash to his dog and proceeded to throw lighter fluid at one of the workers.
The owner of Allegro Pizza, Raul Ferrero, said his employee at first thought it was a prank.
“He thought it was a joke,” Ferrero told Fox 11. “He thought it was water. When he smelled the gasoline that was when he reacted.”
The incident happened on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. The restaurant, located in Thousands Oaks, was closed, and the cook was preparing pizzas for the evening.
Video surveillance footage shows the man, identified as Robert Haight, walk into the kitchen with his little dog. The worker was still holding a head of lettuce and a knife when Haight sprayed him with the gasoline. Haight then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and followed the worker around in the kitchen.
The men eventually made their way outside of the restaurant when a man in a truck intervened. Haight attempts to douse the the man with gasoline, before a witness said the Good Samaritan knocked Haight out.
“I just pulled up, and the guy just got knocked out,” a witness told FOX 11. “His head is bleeding and there was another guy in the parking lot, and he was saying, ‘You need to get out of here, or I’m going to knock you out again.’”
Haight was arrested and charged with attempted murder, with bail set at $500,000. It is unclear if the man has a mental health condition. The dog was taken to an animal shelter.
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