Teacher stabbed to death in Abu Dhabi by ‘Reem Island Ghost’

A TEACHER has been killed after she was stabbed in a horrific attack by a figure dubbed the ‘Reem Island Ghost’.

The kindergarten teacher from the US and mother of twins, was attacked at a busy Abu Dhabi shopping centre overnight, Australian time, police said.

The woman, identified as Ibolya Ryan, 37, was born in Romania but trained as a teacher in the US, NBC News reported.

The suspect enters the shopping centre just minutes before a teacher was stabbed to death. Picture: Abu Dhabi Police Source: Supplied

Abu Dhabi police have released CCTV footage of a robed figure entering the shopping centre on Reem Island.

The figure is seen briefly talking to a security guard before grabbing a paper and disappearing from view.

The suspect then reappears around 90 minutes later running, according to the timestamp on the video, with shoppers panicking in the background as they realise what has happened.

The figure, whose gender is not yet known, then grapples with a woman before escaping into an elevator and out the doors of the shopping centre.

Abu Dhabi Police have released footage of the incident and appealed for public information following the gruesome attack.

The video also contains images of a bloodstained kitchen knife and blood spattered across the toilet floor.

“The assailant, whose gender is still to be identified, fled the scene following the altercation that took place inside the washroom of a shopping mall, wearing an aba, black gloves and the face-covering veil known as a niqab,” police said in a statement.

The attack comes a month after US embassies issued warnings to its citizens over potential attacks against teachers in American and international schools across the Middle East.

However, it had no specific information regarding individual attacks or threats.

The warning issued by US authorities. Source: Supplied

According to a recruitment profile, Ms Ryan became a teacher in Abu Dhabi more than a year ago and had been living in the Emirate state with her 10-year-old twin boys.

She had revealed her excitement about teaching and living there and what she hoped to gain.

“I wanted to experience the Arab world and experience their culture and daily life,” she wrote.

The knife believed to have been used in the attack. Picture: Abu Dhabi Police. Source: Supplied

“I am working in a very traditional neighbourhood and it is very unique to learn and understand their culture.”

US authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim but did say an American citizen had been killed.