21-year-old drugstore security guard stabbed to death in horrific NYC attack after attempting to shoplift

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From Larry Celona, Haley Brown And Marie Pohl

A shoplifter caused chaos in Midtown on Saturday, stabbing and seriously wounding a Duane Reade security guard and threatening another person, police sources said.

The 21-year-old security guard tried to stop the suspected shoplifter from stealing something from the drugstore on the corner of West 53rd and 8th Avenue, police sources said.

But the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed the male security guard in the arm and the left side of his torso, police sources said.

According to sources, the suspect also threatened another person with a knife outside the store.

The police arrived at the crime scene shortly before 4 p.m.

The attack has shocked people in the region.

“I’m worried and scared. The city has changed so much. We have to be on guard in stores and on the subway,” said Ermal Gura, 35, of Staten Island, noting that due to the increasing number of shoplifting incidents, everyone “has to call customer service just to buy a shampoo.”

They found the male suspect several blocks away, still with the knife, police sources said.

The security guard was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital in serious condition, police said.

According to sources, the suspect was arrested and is in the Midtown North precinct.