Man caught on camera stealing baby Jesus from nativity scene

Police in Fort Worth are on the hunt for a man who stole a life-size baby Jesus from a nativity scene over the weekend.

Fort Worth Police Department shared footage of the man who can be seen casually walking up to the nativity, nabbing the holy infant and walking off - you can see the video here:

That’s a surefire way to get yourself on the Naughty List, isn’t it?

The theft happened at around 2:00am, with the surveillance footage showing the man walking off clutching the doll before getting into a waiting car, prompting cops to believe he had an accomplice.

Sharing the footage online, FWPD wrote: “Not a very WISE MAN to steal from the nativity scene in Sundance Square.

“On 12/17 around 2am, this suspect stole baby Jesus and was seen jumping in a tan or silver Chevy Tahoe, so he probably wasn't alone in this.

“If you recognize him, please call 817-392-3956. Report# 2200325146.”

Fort Worth Police Department

As you can imagine, the unusual theft attracted plenty of attention online, with lots of people rushing in to make jokes.

Replying to the FWPD post one person said: “He heard king Herod the great was searching for baby Jesus so he did the noble thing.”

Another joked: “The good news is, that’s probably not the REAL baby jesus and can be replaced with virtually any toy doll sold at Walmart and literally NO ONE WOULD KNOW.”

A third asked: “Is that considered kidnapping?”

Someone else said: “You're not supposed to put Jesus in the manger until December 25th. So he's just making sure that Fort Worth is theologically correct. I'm thinking you should give him a little badge.”

Fort Worth Police Department

Bizarrely, this isn’t the first festive crime we’ve seen this year - back in November a woman was compared to the Grinch after she was caught taking down a festive garland put up on a bridge in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Even more weirdly, locals said this wasn’t even the first time someone had decided to hack down their Christmas display.

Gloria Dunkle, who sits on the town's committee, told CBS: "It took them [local residents] four hours just to put every bow on there, making sure the garland is straight."

She added: “This is for Christmas, it's a great holiday, and to just trash it like it's nothing - it's really, it's upsetting.”

And Gloria stressed that the incident was about more than just a few baubles and lights.

"It's really about the spirit of Cannonsburg, the spirit of Christmas," she added.