Theater performers stabbed during show in Saudi Arabia

Three theater performers were stabbed during a live performance in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, police said early on Tuesday.

The assailant, a 33-year-old Yemeni resident, stormed the stage and stabbed a woman and two men, a police spokesman was cited as saying by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The performers were treated for superficial wounds and are in stable condition. Police apprehended the assailant, the spokesman said. The nationality of the victims is still unknown.

#BREAKING: Riyadh police arrested an #Arab resident in possession of a knife after he stabbed two men and a woman who were members of a theatrical group. pic.twitter.com/ULbWsj3SlF

— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) November 11, 2019

While police didn’t cite the motive for the attack, it comes as the conservative kingdom undergoes a drastic overhaul of its social norms spearheaded by its young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudis have been granted freedoms that include the loosening of rules on women’s attire and travel as well as the mixing of genders as part of a plan to wean the economy off oil.