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A former pizza shop employee in Massachusetts is accused of trying to rob his old workplace.

Police say a man wearing a mask and carrying what turned out to be a fake gun walked into Northeast Pizza in Barre on Tuesday, according to CNN affiliate WCVB.

Surveillance video shows the man climbing over the counter and forcing one of the workers to help him open the register. Employees wrestled him to the floor and held him there until police arrived.

“I was just frozen in my tracks. I didn’t have the time to think about a plan or anything like that, so I just reacted,” pizza shop worker Trevor Kosla told WCVB.

When police arrived and took off the intruder’s mask, employees recognized the would-be robber as a former manager who was fired last summer, according to the station.

The suspect reportedly told police the robbery was meant to be a joke. But police — and his former colleagues — are not laughing.

The former manager faces charges including armed robbery and assault.