A man who was caught shoplifting at a Philadelphia Macy’s returned to the store on Monday morning and stabbed two security guards, killing one of them.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, was caught attempting to steal hats from the Macy’s store in Center City just before 11 a.m., according to local news accounts. Store security confronted and retrieved the merchandise.
About ten to 15 minutes later, the man returned to the store and stabbed a 30-year-old guard in the neck, according to Philadelphia’s NBC station. Another security guard, a 23-year-old, attempted to intervene but was stabbed in the face and arm.
The suspect fled and tossed a knife on nearby subway tracks. He was later arrested.
The guard who was stabbed in the neck was transported to the hospital, where he died, according to news reports. The younger guard was hospitalized and is in stable condition, a local ABC affiliate reported.
Philadelphia has struggled with rising violent crime for years, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic, though homicides have been trending downward. Last year, there were 514 homicides in the City of Brotherly Love, down from 562 in 2021, the highest number in over a decade. So far there have been 386 homicides in the city this year, down 19 percent from this time last year, according to police data.
Last year, the city imposed a nighttime curfew for minors in an effort to protect them from surging crime. Danielle Outlaw, the city’s former police commissioner, resigned in September as the city continues struggling with high levels of crime.