The Egyptian university graduate who killed two German women at a popular Red Sea resort first sat and spoke to them in fluent German before producing a large kitchen knife and stabbing them, security officials say.
Leaving them for dead, 29-year-old Abdel-Rahman Shaaban fled the scene of Friday's attack, chased by hotel workers and security guards.
He rushed into the hotel next door where he attacked and wounded four female tourists who, according to local media reports, included two Armenians, a Ukrainian and a Czech.
"Stay back, I am not after Egyptians," Shaaban shouted in Arabic at his pursuers, according to the officials.
They eventually caught up with him, disarmed and pinned him down and later handed him over to the police. Shaaban stabbed the women in the face, neck and feet, said the officials.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it appeared to have been inspired by recent calls made by the local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group on its followers to attack Egypt's minority Christians and foreign tourists.
The officials said Abdel-Rahman is from the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheikh where he attended the business school of the local branch of Al-Azhar University - the world's foremost seat of learning of Sunni Islam and the target of mounting criticism in recent months over its alleged radical teachings.
A statement by the national security prosecution's office, which is questioning Shaaban in Cairo, said on Saturday that his motives and ideological convictions remained unclear.
On Saturday, tight security was in place at Hurghada, with additional checkpoints at the city's entry and exit points and reinforced security at tourist sites, including where the attack took place.
