Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — The girl, who was stabbed at the Jeddah Corniche on Monday and mistakenly reported dead, is still in the Intensive Care Unit as a vein in her neck was damaged and the nerve controlling her tongue has been affected.

Ati Al-Qurashi,  spokesman of police in the Makkah region, told Saudi Gazette that the person accused of stabbing the girl has been arrested. He said the person has been found guilty of holding a sharp tool and they have found blood on his clothes.



Ahmed Darwish, a relative of the girl, told Saudi Gazette that the crime has been documented by the police who are in the process of transferring it to the investigation and prosecution board.



The 23-year-old girl, addressed in social media as Dareen, was stabbed by an unidentified young man who tried to harass her. Eyewitnesses said the young man took a paper cutter and stabbed her in different parts of her body.



The crime took place on Monday morning at 11 a.m. in front of a coffee shop at the Jeddah Corniche where she had gone with her aunt and cousin. While she was waiting for them outside the coffee shop, a young man started harassing her. When she refused to pay attention to his improper advances, he pushed her to the ground and stabbed her in the back, neck, face and shoulder. The police arrived at the location five minutes later.



Abdullah Al-Sharbini, who was roller skating, followed the young man and took a picture of him and his car. The photo which spread on social media provoked public reaction.



In an Arabic hashtag (’We are all Dareen’), people called for proper security at public places like the Corniche. They demanded the formation of an anti-harassment law. Another hashtag has been created to honor Abdullah Al-Sharbini who succeeded in taking a photo of the man and his car, which resulted in the culprit’s arrest.