Bronx

WATCH: NYC Florist Fights Off Armed Would-Be Robber With Awning Pole

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A man with a knife tried to rob a Bronx flower shop — but quickly found out that he messed with the wrong guy.

The armed would-be robber demanded all the cash in the drawer from the vendor of a flower shop in the Highbridge section of the Bronx earlier in April, video showed. The vendor said that the man displayed the weapon before demanding the cash.

The suspect lunged at the vendor, but that man refused to become a victim, saying that he could only think of defending himself. He said he grabbed something he could use to fend off the attack: an awning pole.

The robber eventually ran off empty-handed.

Jonathan Diaz, the general manager of Fine Fare Supermarket — which the flower shop is part of — said he loved seeing the vendor be able to ward off the attacker.

"I loved it. It shows the spirit of this community, we are never gonna back down to anybody," Diaz said. "They mean everything. They’re family. It’s very unfair what’s going on to them, and not just them but everyone in the neighborhood."

Diaz said that he understands times are tough, but said violence cannot be the answer.

"When is this going to stop? It’s not fair. They come to work everyday, like we come to work, and we just want to provide a service to the community and things like this are unnecessary," he said. "If they need money, if they need something to eat, like I do with people that come into the store, I feed them. They’re hungry, I give them a sandwich, instead of coming to steal. That’s not right."

The flower vendor is very shaken up and said he’s hoping for an arrest — but in the meantime, he’s keeping the awning pole close by.

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