An ISU track athlete has been charged with simple assault after a pizza deliveryman was threatened near Birch Hall on Feb. 11.

Elijah Braimah, freshman in aerospace engineering, was arrested by ISU Police after charges were filed, said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger.

Deisinger said at about 11 p.m. Feb. 11 outside Birch Hall, a man pointed a pellet gun at a Home Team Pizza deliveryman and said, “Give me your money.”

The deliveryman was leaving the Richardson Court Association area after a delivery when he met the man with the pellet gun, Deisinger said.

The man was holding the pellet gun and asked for the money in a joking manner, Deisinger said.

ISU Police were dispatched to the area after the man left, and officers went door-to-door looking for suspects, Deisinger said.

Officers were able to identify Braimah as the suspect and confiscate his weapon, he said.

“I was just joking around,” Braimah said Tuesday.

Braimah, who was removed from the residence halls and was unable to run in the ISU Classic last weekend, said he thinks the situation was blown out of proportion.

“I don’t understand why the cops got involved,” he said. “The cops showed up and I was just like, ‘Jesus Christ.'”

Head men’s track and field coach Steve Lynn said he couldn’t comment on Braimah’s status with the team. However, he said he doesn’t take anything lightly and that each individual is accountable for his actions. “He’s a good kid,” Lynn said.

Deisinger said ISU Police doesn’t receive many calls related to weapons.

He said the possession of a weapon is not a crime unless the weapon is used in a threatening manner. Most cases are referred to the residence halls and the Office of Judicial Affairs, Deisinger said.

“There have been instances in the past that [delivery persons] have been robbed and, on occasion, weapons are involved,” Deisinger said.

Thursday, a staff member of Linden Hall reported people in a vehicle firing a cap gun at pedestrians, ISU Police reports show. Feb. 6, ISU Police reports show a pellet gun was recovered from Friley Hall by a staff member.

Deisinger said he does not believe there is a connection between the three incidents.