Abu Dhabi: A woman accused of murdering a teacher in the toilet of a shopping mall picked her victims at random, but is not a member of a terrorist organisation though she would visit terror websites, investigators said.
American kindergarten teacher Ibolya Ryan, 47, was stabbed to death on December 1 in the women’s bathroom in Boutik Mall on Al Reem Island.
An hour and 20 minutes later, the suspect planted a primitive bomb outside the flat of an Egyptian-American doctor living with his wife and three children on the Corniche.
The doctor’s 13-year-old son spotted what appeared to be a foreign object and informed authorities, who defused the bomb.
An official source said the accused had not planned to kill any American or a person from a particular nationality, but was looking for anyone who looked foreign.
“She selected her victims at random,” the source said in a statement carried by the WAM news agency.
The crime was a personal terrorist act, the source said.
Nothing so far suggests that the accused has links to terrorist organisations or political parties that could be blamed for having incited her to commit the crime.
Terror sites
“The woman did visit terror websites. She bought into that ideology and learnt how to make explosives. Materials used in making the explosives were primitive,” the source said.
Police on Sunday thanked the public for information on the accused with more than 400 calls being made to the authorities.
People are still calling the Aman (safety) hotline 8002626 to give information.
Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said public cooperation was one of the main reasons that led to the arrest of the accused, an Emirati, who wore an abaya, niqab (face covering) shayla (head scarf) and gloves.
Police identified her in less than 24 hours and made the arrest 48 hours after the murder.
Deactivated
Dr M.H.H., a 55-year-old American of Egyptian origin who practises in a hospital in Abu Dhabi, told WAM that his family called police as soon as they spotted the device on their doorstep.
Abu Dhabi Police officials immediately evacuated the family from the apartment and deactivated the explosive device. “The police ensured that the device did not harm my family or neighbours,” he said.
The doctor also said that Lt Gen Shaikh Saif had called to assure him that those convicted of the heinous crimes would face swift justice, a call that increased his confidence in the UAE’s aim to guarantee the safety of all its residents.
Ryan’s ex-husband, Paul, told international news media in a statement Sunday that he is staying with the couple’s twin sons till they finish their exams in January.
The victim’s body is in police custody for investigations and will be repatriated thereafter, officials said.
Fundraising efforts to support her children are currently under way, with dozens of residents holding vigils and leaving flowers and candles outside the mall’s washroom to honour her memory.
— With inputs from WAM
