Jaffa police seeking suspect in weapon snatching attempt

Man attempts to take 22-year-old reserve soldier's weapon, leaves him injured; suspect runs off with gun but throws it away before escaping.

MARCH 21, 2011 03:09

IDF soldier 521 (photo credit: IDF) — IDF soldier 521

(photo credit: IDF)

Police searches were continuing on Sunday night for a man who stabbed an IDF soldier and attempted to snatch his gun in Jaffa on Sunday morning.

One man was arrested by police shortly after the incident, but was later released after officers concluded that he was innocent.

It was too soon to know if the incident was criminally or nationalistically motivated, a police source told The Jerusalem Post. But officers were leaning towards the criminal incident theory, the source added.

The reserve soldier, 22, of Kfar Saba, was on the way to a bus stop at around 8 a.m. on Sunday in Jaffa, when he was set upon from behind by the man.

He struggled with the suspect and sustained a stab wound, before the attacker ran off with his firearm. The soldier gave chase together with a passer-by, and the suspect threw away the stolen gun before getting away.

The soldier was evacuated to the Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv, and was released a few hours later in good condition.

“It looks criminal, but we are not yet certain,” the police source said.

Tel Aviv police have launched a district-wide search for the suspect.