Police drone footage: Armed teen caught fleeing family attack

A police drone hovering over the Negev town of Tel Sheva captured real-time footage of a 15-year-old suspect fleeing on foot after allegedly attacking members of his family. The aerial video shows the final moments of the chase as officers close in on the armed youth, weaving between residential yards and brush until his arrest.

The incident is one of several dramatic operations this week by Southern District police, Border Police units and special forces targeting crime infrastructure across the Negev. The coordinated sweeps, raids, roadblocks and targeted searches, netted large quantities of weapons, stolen IDF ammunition and dangerous narcotics.

The Tel Sheva case began with a call to police reporting a suspect who had assaulted family members. Dramatic aerial footage from the police drone shows the suspect running at speed between yards, fences and buildings. The video marks the suspect with a red circle tracking his escape route, while patrol cars and ground forces (marked in blue circles) advance to cut off his path.

Full footage (Photo: Israel Police spokesperson)

The drone, serving as eyes from above, directs the officers in real time toward the fugitive's hiding spot. The footage clearly shows officers emerging from cover, flanking him among trees and brush near buildings, and quickly subduing him. A thorough search of the area and the suspect's person turned up several individual 5.56mm rounds, along with an improvised weapon carefully hidden and wrapped in cling film. The suspect is a 15-year-old resident of Tel Sheva, who was arrested on the spot and transferred with all evidence for further investigation at the Towns station.

Alongside the Tel Sheva incident, the week's operational surge in the South produced a series of significant results across different sectors: In Ar'ara BaNegev, an 18-year-old was arrested after friends and family reported he had threatened his brother with a weapon; officers who arrived at the scene seized the firearm and took him in for questioning. In a separate proactive operation by Towns station detectives and Border Police fighters, forces identified a suspicious vehicle that began fleeing at the Goral junction; the chase ended near the city of Rahat, where approximately 25 kilograms of material suspected to be hashish was found inside, and the driver—a 28-year-old resident of Tarabin—was immediately arrested for further investigation.

Extensive enforcement activity also took place in the heart of Rahat, led by Rahat station officers in cooperation with the Sahar unit and the Yoav unit, with forces raiding several residential compounds. The searches uncovered and removed numerous standard and illegal combat weapons, including three advanced M-16 assault rifles, two Glock pistols, another improvised pistol, a Carlo submachine gun, and dozens of magazines and hundreds of live rounds. Several suspects were arrested on suspicion of direct involvement in previous shooting incidents and illegal possession of weapons.

Also during this week's ongoing activity, police centers reported locating a vehicle stolen from the city of Rehovot and hidden in the Bedouin area near the town of Lakia; National Guard fighters arrived at the location, recovered the vehicle and returned it safely to its lawful owner.

In the town of Hura, following urgent reports of gunfire heard in residential neighborhoods, Tel Sheva municipal patrol officers and Border Police fighters rushed to the scene, checked a suspicious vehicle that raised their suspicion, and encountered a serious find when a Glock pistol ready for use was located on the body of the driver—a 27-year-old Tel Sheva resident. The suspect was arrested on the spot and transferred for immediate questioning. Police emphasize that all these operations are carried out routinely day and night, with the clear goal of combating serious crime, thwarting criminal activity, getting hold of weapons and drugs that endanger the public, and restoring personal security and quiet to all residents of the area.