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THIEF MAKES OFF WITH $300G IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY: COPS

A brazen thief sneaked up behind an armored-car guard delivering cash to a Manhattan bank today morning and snatched her gun and a bag containing $330,000 in cash, police said.

The unidentified man – who was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants – was standing in the vestibule of the M&T Bank at 397 First Ave. in Kips Bay around 9:30 a.m. and pretending to use the ATM, cops said.

When the 22-year-old guard – who works for Dunbar Armored Car Co. – walked out with a sack of cash, the man grabbed her from behind, pulled a loaded .357 Smith & Wesson handgun out of its holster, and barked, “Gimme your s- – -!” a source said.

The guard’s partner was sitting in the armored car outside at the time. While he saw what was happening, he was under orders not to leave the vehicle, sources said.

After a brief struggle, the man snatched a nylon bag containing $330,000 in $100 bills out of her hand. He then tossed the gun into the bag and fled south on First Avenue.

“It was a pretty good robbery,” said a law-enforcement source.

Police described the suspect as being in his 20s or 30s, standing about 5-foot-10 and weighing around 230 pounds.

Detectives were looking at an image of a man captured on the ATM’s surveillance camera who matches the description given by the guard, but could not say if it was the suspect.

Residents who live near the bank, which is 23rd and 24th streets, said they frequently saw guards with guns drawn delivering money and were surprised that a thief could catch the guards by surprise.

“It’s outside and you can see the hammer is already cocked sometimes and ready to go. They always have their guns drawn. You’d have to be nuts to try to rob them,” said a man who works in a building next door and only gave his first name, Rudy.

He added that the cops arrived almost immediately, but the man managed to escape.

“This guy must have been a track star,” he said.

Leroy Farmer, 63, who lives nearby, said the man timed the heist perfectly.

“He had to know that truck was coming to be able to get away with that much money,” Farmer said.

A spokesman for Dunbar declined comment, citing company policy.

The robbery was the first successful armored-car heist in the city since 2003, when a ski-mask-clad bandit made off with $2.1 million from an armored car he hijacked at JFK Airport.

The last attempted armored-car robbery was in October 2006, when a gunman stole $150,000 from a driver dropping money off at a Queens check-cashing agency. The gunman was caught and the money recovered.

john.doyle@nypost.com