Bullet won't stop this pizza delivery man

updated 1:29 p.m. ET June 8, 2005

TAMPA, Fla. - A robbery attempt by a masked man and a gunshot wound to the leg didn’t stop a pizza delivery man from making his rounds, pies in hand.

Thomas Stefanelli, 37, said dedication to his job at Hungry Howie’s Pizza kept him on the job after a struggle with a robber Saturday night left him bleeding from a bullet wound in his left thigh.

Stefanelli arrived at a home only to realize it was vacant, police said. The masked man approached Stefanelli, pointed a gun and demanded money. Stefanelli said he fought with the man, and two shots were fired. One hit Stefanelli, but he did not immediately notice.

The shooter eventually fled with a second man.

“They figured they were going to make an easy mark by robbing a pizza delivery person,” said police spokesman Joe Durkin.

Stefanelli finally noticed his wound. His cell phone wasn’t working, so he drove to his next delivery address, dropped off the pie and called his boss to ask him to call the police.

Stefanelli went on to make three more deliveries.

“It bled a little bit, not much,” he said.

He was treated and released from a hospital.

No arrests have been made, but police have identified several suspects, Durkin said.

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