A watermelon theft in Burnaby, B.C., went bad early Thursday as one fruit came to an untimely end.

An early morning caper targeting Choices Market on 10th Avenue ended with an alleyway chase — and "violence" to at least one watermelon.

Witnesses watched the would-be bandits flee around 2:21 a.m. PT — faces obscured with turquoise bandanas — as they made off with four watermelons and perhaps just didn't do the math: three bandits, four large melons.

Tragically, one fruit didn't make it, coming to a melon-choly end as it hit the pavement.

The teens were chased to an alleyway but not caught.

Police were able to return one of the fruits to the grocery stand, by lobbing it back over the fence onto the pile.

"1 watermelon sustained serious injuries during the theft. Another was returned in good condition," tweeted CBC reporter Gian-Paolo Mendoza who called 911 when he saw the theft, launching a joint investigation with Burnaby RCMP and the New Westminster Police Department.

Police move in and surround a watermelon around 2:21 a.m PT in Burnaby B.C.