A New Berlin man who manages a Wauwatosa sub shop was attacked Monday morning by a stranger who clearly knew he was carrying the store's cash receipts, but the victim was able to hold on until his assailant became alarmed and ran off.

At 9:39 a.m., the man reported he had been the victim of an attempted strong-arm robbery moments before in the parking lot of Tri City National Bank, 10859 Blue Mound Road.

He said he is the general manager of the nearby Jimmy John’s sub sandwich shop, 10919 W. Blue Mound, and was carrying a deposit bag full of cash to the bank.

As he passed the Keren Properties building at 10909, he said, he saw a young man kneeling next to the building and they briefly made eye contact. He continued walking but as he approached the bank he heard footsteps behind him, turned, and saw the suspect running after him.

The suspect grabbed him by the shoulder and then reached his other arm around him to try to grab the bag of cash. The manager said the suspect said, “Let me get that money, man,” as they grappled.

He said he tried to flee but the suspect held him by the sweatshirt and punched him twice in the face. They struggled over the bag for about a minute before the suspect finally gave up and ran away.

He described the would-be robber as white, about 24 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build and short, curly black hair. He was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up.

Witnesses in the bank and in a parked car outside both took some credit for driving the robber off. A bank employee said that when his attention was called to a fight outside, he pounded on a window and believed that caused the young man to run. The driver of the car said she honked her horn at the pair and also believed that the attention helped prompt the suspect to flee.

The shop manager told police he thought he would recognize the robber if he saw him again, but also said that he did not recognize him as a former employee or anyone else known to him.