Police launched an extensive manhunt Sunday morning after a suspect stole a handgun from a security guard stationed outside a school in Givat Shmuel, central Israel.

Security camera footage from the scene shows the suspect arriving at the school entrance on an electric scooter before approaching the guard.

The suspect appeared to exchange a few words with the guard, who was standing near the school gate, before suddenly grabbing his handgun.

The suspect managed to take the weapon without any apparent resistance from the guard and immediately fled the scene on his scooter.

According to footage of the incident, the guard was drinking when the suspect approached and grabbed the gun.

A parent who witnessed the incident said the guard was standing at the school’s rear entrance, as he does every morning, when a young man approached, spoke to him briefly, and snatched the weapon before escaping.

Large numbers of police officers from the Dan District arrived at the scene and launched searches for the suspect.

Police believe the incident was criminally motivated, although investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the theft.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)