The incident happened in Rhondda, Wales, last November.
A man has been jailed for 20 months after pointing a fake gun at a kebab shop owner in South Wales after he was asked to wear a mask in the shop.
Paul Griffiths, 57, walked into the ‘Rhondda Takeaway’ on 5 November last year and tried to order food. However he was not wearing a mask and refused to do so when he was asked. He was therefore told to wait outside.
As the owner tried to explain that Griffiths needed to wear a mask in order to enter the shop, the 57-year-old pulled out a fake gun and began pointing it at people in the shop.
CCTV footage of the incident can be seen below.
#WATCH | A #Rhondda man who pointed an imitation firearm at a kebab shop owner – after he was told to wait outside the shop because he refused to wear a mask – has been #jailed.
Paul Griffiths, 57, walked into the Rhondda Takeaway on November 5 and tried to order food. pic.twitter.com/1uoYytSqeB
— South Wales Police (@swpolice) June 1, 2021
When asked to put on a mask he refused, so was told to wait outside.
As the owner tried to explain why he was asking him to put on a mask, Griffiths pulled an imitation firearm from his pocket and pointed it at people in the shop.
More ➡️ https://t.co/2fTj3ABSgM
@swpRCT
^hs
— South Wales Police (@swpolice) June 1, 2021
According to South Wales Police, a customer and delivery driver dived behind the counter of the shop in fear that they were going to be shot. The delivery driver then ran to the living quarters and told people to lock the door, before running out of the back of the shop and calling 999.
The firearm that Griffiths had pulled out was a CO2 powered paintball-type firearm.
When armed officers arrived and arrested the man, they then got a warrant to search his home and found a cannabis factory there.
Griffiths was charged with possessing an imitation firearm in a public place with intent to cause fear of violence, possessing a prohibited weapon, and cannabis production.
He appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on 20 May after pleading guilty and was jailed for 20 months.
The officer in charge of the police investigation, Detective Constable Lucy Robins, said: “Griffiths’ actions that night were plain stupid and reckless. The people inside the shop that night genuinely feared for their lives.
“I would like to praise the actions of the owner who acted calmly and put the safety of others first by trying to keep the man inside the shop. The delivery raised the alarm quickly which ensured our armed officers were on the scene in minutes while he was still at the scene.”
