She was stabbed by the man against whom she had testified in a criminal case about wearing a headscarf. The murder was committed inside the Courtroom in front of her three-year-old son and husband. She was three months pregnant.
As El-Sherbini and her family were about to leave, Alex Wiens, the man against whom she had testified, attacked her with an 18 cm (7 in) long blade. She received multiple stab wounds to the upper body and arm (at least 16). While trying to protect his wife, El-Sherbini's husband Elwi Ali-Okaz was stabbed at least 16 times to the head, neck, upper body and arm. The attack happened at 10:23 (time-stamped by the judge having raised a security alarm). A police officer, called to the scene to intervene, mistook Elwi Ali-Okaz for the attacker and shot him in the lower leg. Her three-year-old son was also injured while being ushered to safety. Marwa El-Sherbini died at the scene, at 11:07, succumbing to her injuries. Alex Wiens was arrested on the scene.
