This terrific little incident began about 5:28 p.m., when Lowell Police got a report of an attempted robbery at the former Mobil Gas Station at 447 Bridge St.

The place is now called Moujaes Inc., as far as I can tell.

A suspect had fled in a blue Honda with New York plates, and Lowell Police had all surrounding towns keep an eye out for the vehicle.

It turns out that wasn't necessary, since the suspect returned to the store 20 to 30 minutes later. The clerk immediately called police, who rushed to the scene and arrested Juan Carrion, 31, of the Bronx, as seen below.

Police said it turned out there was no attempted robbery, and that Carrion had apparently just pulled a knife during an argument with the clerk during the initial incident. He told officers he had returned to apologize.

The apology didn't work, and Carrion was booked for assault with a dangerous weapon (knife), assault with a dangerous weapon (motor vehicle), and a violation of the city'd dangerous weapon ordinance.