CAIRO: A new crime reported by the Maadi stabber Wednesday, has triggered a fresh wave of panic and rumors among Maadi residents and those of surrounding areas Basateen, Saqr Qureish and Hadayek Al Maadi. Two sisters were said to have been stabbed at the door of their flat in Al Arab area near New Maadi when they answered a caller who claimed to be the garbage-collector. He stabbed both girls at random and fled the scene. Rumor also has it that a woman had wounded the stabber when he tried to attack her as she left her house on Road 77. Many residents of that road dismissed the story as baseless at a time when police has intensified the search in New Maadi and Saqr Qureish, where the stabber has committed most of his violent acts. Media coverage of the serial crimes has concentrated on interviews with the families of the attacked girls, but there were hardly any new developments other than the fact that the girls and their families are terrified. The press reported that Hadayek Al Maadi which was always teeming with people crowding its street at all times, is now empty of any women or young girls, most of whom don't have the guts to walk in the streets after 6 pm. The area has become notorious after the stabber attacked Azza Hamdy Khalil, who sustained serious injuries, on the second day of the Eid in front of her house on Naguib Mahfuz Street. Her friends and neighbors in the district remain horrified. Alya Mohamed Khalil, 11, the daughter of a security guard at Al Lasilky area, was stabbed on her way to the bakery. The passersby carried her back to her family's place. Since then her father is only allowing her to leave the house to sit for the mid-year exams. Most girls go out accompanied by family members or in groups. Their parents or brothers keep track of them on cell-phones. Maadi residents, are, however, still divided with regard to the incidents. Awad Mahmud, a mechanic, says: "I think is a bit affected. You never know, the stories could have been exaggerated to divert public opinion. How can someone like this escape the scene every time? He added: "It doesn't make any sense. If a woman's bag is snatched in the middle of the street in broad daylight, scores of men will rush to catch the thief. How could some of these incidents happen like this in broad daylight? Al Gomhouria daily newspaper has cited security officials as saying that the stabber whose age ranges between 20 to 30, could be a psychopath rather than a true criminal. A criminal usually plans his murders ahead and would be more brutal, usually hacking his victims. The criminal investigation department is, however, leaving no stone unturned. It has divided Maadi and Basateen into several security zones ready to ambush the stabbers based on descriptions they've been given by the victims. Police presence has been also intensified near schools and markets and other congested areas. Some 50 suspects have been rounded up. Sources at the interior ministry said after the reporting about the last women attacked the ministry has been distributing intense numbers of police officers not only in Maadi, but in all districts of Cairo. "We have a very good plan to catch that masked attacker and we are doing our best to cover Cairo as a whole not only Maadi. Who knows, the attacker might leave Maadi and go to another area tomorrow, said the source.
