A man in his 20s stabbed six women, two of them fatally, in attacks at two hotels in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egyptian officials and witnesses said Friday.
Two German women were killed in the attack, the Red Sea Security Directorate said, and the four others were wounded. All six were taken to hospitals, according to the Egyptian Interior Ministry. The conditions of the surviving women were not immediately available.
The Health Ministry deputy in the Red Sea province, Naglaa Shatt, said that the four wounded women included two Armenians, one Czech and a Ukrainian. He said the Czech woman underwent surgery at Salam Hospital, while the three others were treated at Hurghada General Hospital.
A spokesman for Germany’s Foreign Office said that it was possible that German nationals were among the victims but that there was no certainty. Germany’s Embassy in Cairo is working with Egyptian authorities to gain clarity about the identity of the individuals involved.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this cowardly and spiteful act, which seems to have targeted tourists who just wanted to spend a carefree and relaxing time at the sea,” the spokesman said.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the attack occurred about 11 a.m. and that the assailant was taken into custody about noon. The statement said that the man is being questioned and that the ministry has beefed up security in the area to ensure the safety of tourists.
Diaa Elhadidi, 28, witnessed the attack and posted photos from the scene to social media. Elhadidi said on his Facebook page that the attacker is not a terrorist – “nothing but an unemployed lowlife who fought with two German ladies.” Elhadidi said that the man stabbed the women with a knife at Zahabia Hotel and that they died instantly. He said the assailant then jumped into the water, swam to the adjoining Sunny Days El Palacio hotel while trying to escape, and wounded the other women before he was caught by El Palacio guards.
Other sources say, however, that the women appeared to be targeted.
One eyewitness told the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Yawm newspaper that the attacker, who was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, was speaking on the phone just before the assault.
“I saw him speak over the phone and heard him say that he will jump in the water, asking the person on the line to pick him up,” but as soon as he jumped into the water, police officers followed and caught him, the witness told the newspaper.
The witness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that he had an encounter with the suspect and that the man told him to stay away from him because “he does not want Egyptians. They are not the ones wanted.”
An Egyptian security official speaking to the Associated Press said the attacker was intentionally looking to attack foreigners and is said to have shouted in Arabic during the attack: “Stay away, I don’t want Egyptians.”
The attacker’s motive is still under investigation, the Interior Ministry said.
The women were stabbed in the face, neck and feet, the security official said.
The Washington Post’s Isaac Stanley-Becker in Berlin contributed to this report.
