He had no money, so they took his life.

A Bronx teen was fatally stabbed after an attempted sidewalk robbery turned into a fight once the victim insisted he was broke, a police source said Saturday.

Carl Ducasse, 17, an aspiring attorney set to graduate high school this month, was knifed multiple times in his chest late Friday by a killer who remained on the run, police said.

"He was never a kid of the streets," said a weeping Angela Ducasse, the victim's mother. "He was a regular teenager. He was never arrested. He said he wanted to be a lawyer.

"We already bought his graduation clothes."

According to cops, Ducasse was about a block from his home when one of the men approached and demanded the teen's cash. Ducasse, after announcing he had no money, started scuffling with the suspect.

Cops said a knife-wielding man then joined the brawl, fatally stabbing Ducasse before both suspects fled. Cops were looking for a teen from another borough in connection with the killing.

"He went to buy a shake and he told them he didn't have any money," said the dead youth's aunt, Francia Ducasse. "They asked him for $2, and he said he didn't have any money ... They stabbed him straight in his heart."

Carl Ducasse, the youngest of three kids, was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but could not be saved, officials said.

The victim's parents, surrounded by a dozen family members and friends, sat in their home about a block from the murder scene at E. 175th St. and Walton Ave. in Mount Hope.

A small memorial with lit candles appeared within hours of the killing outside the teen's home.

Fighting back tears on the eve of Father's Day, dad Carlos Ducasse talked of his son's lost future.

"He wanted to go to college," said the father. "He wanted to be prepared for life."