An attempted robbery has given a new appreciation and a reinstated sense of fear to the owner of a Blair County market after he jumped into harm's way over the weekend to stop a man from taking cash and hurting his employees.

"My son is a New York City policeman, and afterwards I thought, 'I did this once and he does this every day,'" said Louis Grillo, owner of Lorico's Market. "It just scares me."

It all went down Sunday morning when police say a gunman walked in and demanded cash. But the alleged robber didn't get away thanks to Grillo and another employee who tackled him to the ground and pinned him there until police arrived.

"He had the gun here and then I came and grabbed his arm and then we kind of went that way (towards the front of the store)," said Grillo, who has owned the market for about three years.

He said he was talking with an employee near the front of the store on Sunday when his ordinary morning turned into chaos.

"This kid came walking past us. He had a hoodie on and sunglasses. Then maybe two or three minutes later, all of a sudden I hear the clerk saying, 'gun,'" said Grillo. "I saw the gun over the counter and then I don't know, I just reacted."

Police said Joshua Guido was after cash. Without hesitation Grillo said he turned around and tried to grab a semi-automatic handgun out of Guido's hand.

"I didn't want anybody to get hurt I guess. That was my only concern," said Grillo. "And then keeping that hand on that gun away from everybody."

Grillo said the two began to scuffle and shelves and merchandise were tossed around, before a female employee jumped on top of Guido and pinned him to the ground.

"I was on top of his face," said Grillo. "My body was on him so he couldn't move at all."

Police arrived minutes later and took Guido into custody.

Grillo was left with an injured shoulder, knee and a nasty black eye, but he said all he could think about was Guido.

"I felt sorry for him too. This kid's going to ruin his life," said Grillo. "But the thing is we got a gun off the street and we got him off the street and I don't know how many times he may have used that gun."

Grillo also serves as a pastor for Archway Ministries in Altoona. He told 6 News that he hopes Guido will be able to get counseling and one day be able to apologize because he said he believes everyone deserves a second chance.

Guido remains behind bars in the Blair County Prison.

The Altoona Police Department said they never recommend a member of the public to confront an armed suspect.