Maryland State Police have a strange case to solve: A man walked into a Frederick County 7-11 Wednesday morning and tried to rob it. His weapon of choice? A banana.

The 7-11 on Fingerboard Road in Monrovia has been robbed before, but never like this. At 12:45 a.m., a masked man walked up to the counter and grabbed--a banana. He aimed it at the clerk and demanded cash.

"What's he think he's going to do with a banana?! Ain't much you can do with a banana! Throw the peel down and hope he slips on it," said resident Michael Benton.

Police said the suspect hit the clerk with the fruit, but the clerk fought back with a real weapon. As a surveillance camera rolled, the clerk grabbed a knife and chased the man out of the store.

"I wouldn't have done that. I would have just given him whatever he wanted and let him go," said nearby store owner Jodie Capone.

"That's a little weird! He's bananas," said Rockville resident Sue Corle.

The fruit-wielding wanna be thief got away with nothing and the banana bandit's botched crime has nearby workers feeling empowered. If he comes back, they said will fight back.

"They're scissors that I use to cut silk. And they're more of a weapon than a banana," said a local employee Melody Weed.

And in a strange twist, last night before this all happened, the store manager baked her customers a treat--banana bread.

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