A masked man attempting to rob an East Bremerton McDonald’s restaurant early Friday morning had trouble getting employees to take him seriously.

He was eventually wrestled to the ground by the workers, who held him until police arrived.

Bremerton Police were called to the McDonald’s at 3580 Wheaton Way in Bremerton just after midnight when employees reported they had detained a man who had tried to rob the counter, according to police reports.

Employees initially thought the suspect, 29, of Bremerton, was a fellow employee playing a joke. He was wearing a mask and had a metal pipe under his clothes which he told employees he would use to shoot them.

After demanding money from the register 10 times, the suspect went behind the counter. An employee approached the man and was punched in the face. The employee then said, “Oh no, it’s on,” according to the man’s written statement.

The suspect was wrestled to the ground and detained while the store’s owner called 911. He was booked into the Kitsap County jail for investigation of first-degree robbery.