By SCOTT INGLIS
Valentine's Day is for love and flowers, but one armed robber thought it meant easy cash.
He struck an Auckland florist on Tuesday night, possibly thinking it would be flush with cash from Valentine's orders.
But most orders are paid for by credit card and Eftpos, and the robber fled from Hillsborough Flowers and Gifts with just a few hundred dollars.
The man burst into the Oakdale Rd shop at 9.55 pm. The owners were working late, preparing for their busiest day of the year.
He pointed a sawn-off rifle and demanded cash, before fleeing along Oakdale Rd.
The robber was a Maori or Pacific Islander, about 20 years old, of medium build and height with thick eyebrows. He wore a dark beanie, top, trousers and shoes.
Florist shops are not normally targeted by robbers. "It's the last thing these people expected preparing for a Valentine's Day rush," said Detective Sergeant Jill Rogers, of Avondale.
One of the Asian owners, who did not want to be named, said she feared reprisals from the gunman.
Carol King, the national secretary of the professional florists' organisation, confirmed that floristry was traditionally a safe occupation. "Usually the worst thing you can get is spray poisoning from the flowers."
Valentine's robber forsakes flowers for cash
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