A mentally ill man carrying a knife in a shopping mall in Muscat stabbed a policeman to death and injured two others on Saturday, according to Omani security services.

The incident came as a surprise to many as it is not common to have this spur of violence in a popular mall that is usually very safe.

Omani police said on their official Twitter page that the crime happened in City Centre Mall in the capital, adding that a ‘white weapon’ was used, referring to the knife.

A Omani brigadier, Captain Mohammed bin Salam al-Hashimi, said on national television that Omani police received a complaint about a suspected individual walking around the mall.

He added that a number of policemen immediately started searching for the man who was wandering around the mall’s food court.

Captain al-Hashimi said, “While police were trying to arrest suspect, he attacked one of the policemen with a white weapon which caused a serious injury that lead to his death.”

“Others were injured, while the attacker suffered a small injury and is now under arrest and will be brought to justice.”

Omani police said that upon his arrest, a document was found on the attacker confirming that he was mentally ill.

Oman’s population is about four and a half million, 46 percent of which are expats.

Source: Alarabiya