A florist who had a broken bottle held to his neck by a man who was then fatally shot by police said he "felt sorry" about his attacker's death.

Florist Emmanuel Theoharis opened his shop on Thursday morning, 12 hours after the shooting in front of peak-hour commuters at Central Station.

The 76-year-old florist, who has worked at the same shop for 46 years, said the man came up behind him and threatened him with a broken bottle. The man held the bottle at the florist's neck, leaving a small cut, before grabbing a pair of scissors in the shop.

Mr Theoharis said the man was yelling "Call the police, call the police", prompting onlookers to call triple zero.