The suspect stormed the shop and tried to sexually assault a worker.
Police arrived a short time later to gather evidence from inside the Ming Lai floral shop.
The worker narrowly escaped rape Wednesday afternoon when she and an observant passerby called 911 for help.
It happened on Mosco Street.
The suspect fled on to Mulberry Street after he panicked when his intended victim put up a strong fight and started yelling for help.
A customer at a grocery store across the street saw her being dragged to a back room and began yelling as well.
A neighboring business owner says the victim went out of her way to help her attacker before he turned on her.
"He was like posing as a customer and she saw he was wet and let him use the toilet, dried him off, gave him some towels to dry off, and eventually he came back and I guess tried to assault her," said Warren Chan of "Everything Frosted".
Police may have a surveillance picture of the suspect, but have not yet released it to the public.
