Police have released chilling footage of a masked man walking into a hotel at 4am and holding the helpless clerk at gunpoint during her overnight shift.

The hooded-attacker climbed over the front desk at at the Woodspring Suites in Davie, Florida, on December 22 and demanded the terrified employee open the safe.

She told him she didn't know the combination, so he clasped one hand around her mouth to stop her screaming while holding his gun in the other and then demanded she open the cash register instead.

The pair struggled for five minutes before a guest and his father walked in and scared the man away.

The gunman can be seen hopping over the front desk and running down the corridor, leaving the clerk behind.

Police are looking for this man they say jumped over a hotel clerk's counter and then strangled at gunpoint while covering her mouth and demanding she open the safe

The suspect grabs the hotel clerk's mouth as she tries unsuccessfully to wrestle him off of her

Police have shared the surveillance video in a bid to find the man who stormed into the hotel.

Davie Police Sgt. Mark Leone described the horrifying attack in detail and then urged the public to come forward if they knew anything.

That hotel guest, Mike White, told WPLG 10 that he and his father had gone out to throw out some trash when they heard the commotion.

'We heard screaming and as we were opening the door to go throw the garbage out and there I turned and the man actually had his hand on her,' White said.

White said he was really worried about his father's safety over his own, but he's glad their presence scared the suspect away.

'I wasn't scared. I wasn't really anything. I was just more, like, shocked something like that was happening,' White said.

Despite the attack, the clerk was not injured and returned to work the next day.

As the suspect makes his way over the hotel clerk's desk he can be seen holding a gun (circled)

The suspect is seen forcefully covering the clerk's mouth as she appears to struggle to breath

She continues to try to fight off the suspect during the violent overnight robbery

Thankfully a hotel guest taking out the trash (in the background) frightens the violent robber

Do you recognize this man? Police are hoping that this footage can help them find the attacker

The 4am incident unfolded at the Woodspring Suites in Davie, Florida (shown) on December 22

Police say the suspect is a black man in his 20s and is between 5-feet-10 inches and 6-feet-1-inch tall.

He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with black gloves and had on purple sneakers.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the Davie Police Department at 954-693-8200 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.