Man stabs to death a guard in Oman's biggest mall

Two other people were injured in the attack on Saturday afternoon

A shopping mall security guard in Oman was stabbed to death on Saturday, police said.

“The police can confirm that a man killed a guard at City Centre Muscat with a knife at about 1pm,” an Omani police report said, adding that two other people were injured in the attack.

The police said that the motive behind the attack was still unclear but an investigation was under way.

Video footage on social media showed the suspect being dragged away by two security guards after the attack, while another video showed the victim’s lifeless body on the floor.

Police have urged residents to stop spreading such videos on social media and to respect the privacy of the victim’s family.

City Centre Muscat is the biggest shopping mall in Oman with more than 100,000 shoppers at the weekends.

One witness said he saw the attacker standing in a corner with a knife in his hand minutes before he ran into the crowd.

“It was as if he planned it, and there was someone he was waiting for. I don’t think it was a random attack,” said the witness.

Another witness said the suspect — reportedly an Omani citizen — looked like he was in his early thirties and appeared to be “deranged”.

"The man brandished a knife at the crowd. When this brave guard tried to stop him, the attacker knifed him on the neck," the witness told The National. "Then two other guards stopped him and grounded him."