TACOMA, Wash. KOMO -- A store clerk turned the tables on a would-be robber, and whacked him with his own homemade weapon.

Now police are looking for a crook who might have nail marks all over after being hit with what Det. Mark Fulghum describes as a "very unorthodox weapon -- a stick with nails coming out the end of it."

Fulghum said the suspected robber was on a mission.

"He had a bag in his hand," he said. "He knew what he wanted."

The would-be thief didn't waste any time either. In less than a minute, the thief walked around the counter and straight towards the clerk. But the clerk gave him a run for his money, grabbed the stick out of the guy's hands and chased him out the door, whacking him in the back.

"He probably has some marks on his back," Fulghum said.

People in East Tacoma want the guy caught. If he's dangerous enough to carry a homemade weapon with nails sticking out of it, they're worried what he'll do next.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact police.