CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Clerk fights back against accused two-time armed robber -- with a gardening hoe

WANTED IN TACOMA -- Tacoma police say there’s a knife-wielding robber they need your help identifying, who hit the same store twice within days. This is a photo snapped of the suspect when he robbed the 72nd Street Deli and Market" on July 17. This second photo is what he looked like when detectives say he returned two days later. He threatened the clerk with a large knife both times. In the first robbery, he easily just grabbed the cash and took off, but detectives say when he came back the second time, the clerk decided to fight back.

"This time a clerk actually picked up a stool and hit him with it,” said Ofc. Lorretta Cool of the Tacoma Police Department. “He caused him to drop the knife. The clerk went to get another tool to hit him with and the suspect grabbed the cash register and fled out the door." Cool continued: "It's a market that people go in and out of quite frequently. Even at that time at night it's a pretty busy area. In this instance it was just the clerk that had the confrontation with him. But, had there been a customer in the store, you don’t know, he might have hurt them also.” Detectives think he's white, in his mid-20s, and had a beard for the first hit that he shaved off for the second.

If you know his name, call an anonymous tip into: CRIME STOPPERS: 1-800-222-TIPS You must call the Crime Stoppers hotline with your tip to be eligible to receive a cash reward for information leading to a fugitive’s arrest. Click here for information on how to text a tip to Crime Stoppers.