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Police say the cook was sprayed with lighter fluid by a man who entered the establishment with his dog, before the suspect grabbed a kitchen knife and chased the victim throughout the business.
Terrifying video from inside a California pizza shop shows the moment an employee ran for his life from a man now charged with attempted murder.
According to the Thousand Oaks Police Department, authorities responded to Allegro Pizza on Sunday afternoon. Following their initial investigation, they say suspect Robert Haight entered the establishment with his dog in tow and, "unprovoked," started to squirt lighter fluid on an employee who was doing prep work and "attempted to ignite the employee on fire."
"Haight then grabbed a large kitchen knife and chased the employee through the business," said authorities, who added, "the employee fled the business through a rear back door."
Video video shared by the store to Fox 11 shows the incident, below:
The suspect then allegedly followed the victim into the rear parking lot, where a Good Samaritan attempted to intervene. That second victim then had lighter fluid squirted onto him and was also assaulted, according to police, before fighting off Haight.
Cops arrived shortly after the second attack and took the suspect into custody; he was later taken to the hospital and treated for injuries. Haight was charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of assault with a death weapon and two counts of assault with caustic chemical; his bail was set at $500,000 and, according to records, he was released Tuesday.
Speaking with Fox 11, shop owner Raul Ferrero said the store was closed at the time of the attack and added the cook was prepping for the night shift at the time. He said his employee at first thought "it was a joke" and he had been sprayed with water, before he smelled the liquid and realized what it really was.
A witness also told the outlet that a trucker, the Good Samaritan in question, "knocked" out Haight. "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.'"
According to Fox, the suspect's dog was brought to a shelter.
