A man has been arrested after a security guard was stabbed to death and another injured at a landmark department store in the US as crowds of festive shippers looked on in horror.
Christmas shoppers were left horrified when a confrontation erupted after a shoplifter was caught trying to steal hats at the busy Macy’s department store in Philadelphia.
The thief returned to the store around 15 minutes later and attacked the guards with a knife, authorities said, killing one and hospitalising another.
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The suspect was caught by Philadelphia police at Somerset Station after fleeing the scene on a train.
Macy’s, the iconic US department store chain, is located across from City Hall in Center City.
Police commissioner John Stanford said in a press briefing: “When the male comes back into store, he immediately goes straight towards one of the security guards, and then redirects his attention to a second security guard, runs directly to that security guard with a knife already exposed and begins to stab him.”
“There’s a couple with the second security guard trying to save the first guard that’s stabbed, and that security guard sustains several stab wounds, as well.”
Both victims were taken to the hospital, where one of the guards was pronounced dead around 11:20am.
Police said the suspect dropped a knife on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford line platform after fleeing the scene. The suspect was taken into custody at Somerset station around noon and was positively identified by a witness, Stanford said.
The identities of the Macy’s security guards have not been disclosed, but it was revealed that the guard who tragically lost his life was a 30 year old man. He suffered a fatal stab wound to the neck.
The second guard, a 23 year old man, was stabbed in the face and left arm, according to the police. He is currently stable in hospital.
It was also shared by the police that one of the guards had recently started working at Macy’s, while the other had been there for several years already.
The investigation continues.
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