Eight-year-old dodges charges after stick-up attempt with mum's gun

The mother of an eight-year-old boy who attempted to stick up a supermarket in the US says she thought the boy was on his way to play with his mates.

"He say he wanna go to the park, I told him 'go ahead', he gave me a hug," the boy's mother told WPTV.

"I grabbed my purse, it was so light – you know, I knew I was missing something," she said.

That missing something was her 9mm pistol, which her son, having donned a full-face motorcycle helmet and ridden his bike down the street, was about to use in his first attempt at armed robbery.

According to workers in the King Foods and Meat Bazaar, the boy walked through the door with an air of confidence, striding up to the counter and demanding "give me the f---ing money".

"It's so shocking. I feel like you have to be careful with everybody nowadays," one of the store workers told NBC Miami.

"You can never be too careful."

But the wannabe bandit's efforts were rapidly foiled when a staff member crept up behind him and wrested the weapon from his hands; police arrived soon after to take the lad into custody.

The boy was charged with attempted armed robbery and aggravated assault, but the state has ordered him to attend a "diversion program" and keep out of the supermarket in lieu of taking the matter further.

The boy's mother, meanwhile, says she'll be more careful with her gun from now on.