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NEW ORLEANS – A would-be robber was thwarted by the mechanics of his own handgun when he tried to rob a Church’s Chicken last night.

The unidentified man entered the fast food restaurant in the 2500 block of St. Bernard Avenue through an unlocked side door around 9:30 p.m. on December 6, according to initial reports by the NOPD.

The robber pulled out a handgun and told the employees to open the safe.

He then attempted to “rack” the handgun by pulling the slide back to chamber a round, a move popularized on movies and television shows.

That’s when things began to go wrong.

The magazine fell out of the handgun and clattered to the ground when he racked his weapon, turning the scene from a tense drama to something closer to a slapstick comedy.

The would-be robber collected his magazine off of the ground and ran out of the restaurant, according to the NOPD.

No injuries were reported, and no money was stolen in the robbery attempt.