Art Basel Stabbing: Woman Attacked At Miami Art Show, Witnesses Thought It Was A 'Performance' (PHOTOS)

An altercation between two women ended with one of them being stabbed at an Art Basel Miami Beach exhibit at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida Friday night, authorities said, according to The Miami Herald.

One woman pulled out an X-acto knife and stabbed the other woman with the weapon in the arms and neck, said Miami Beach police spokeswoman Det. Kathleen Prieto before adding that the victim was hospitalized with "non life-threatening" injuries and the suspect was apprehended at the scene and is expected to be charged with attempted murder.

Eyewitnesses thought the stabbing was a form of performance art and nothing more than an act. Naomi Fisher, an artist who was exhibiting her art nearby, said she heard a fight and the next thing she saw was a woman being wheeled away by paramedics at approximately 5:30 p.m.

"A guy walked up to me and said, 'I thought I saw a performance, and I thought it was fake blood, but it was real blood,'" said Fisher. "It's horrible ... I'm so freaked out. I feel nauseous."

A police report states that the two women did not know each other and the victim was attacked after she confronted the attacker for following her around the art show and intentionally colliding with her on multiple occasions, according to NBC Miami.

Security has stepped up at the event in the wake of the Paris attacks, because of which on site security personnel were able to arrive at the scene immediately and arrest the suspect, identified as 24-year-old New York resident Siyuan Zhao.

"The attack was an isolated incident that was immediately secured. Our thoughts are with the victim," said Sara Fitzmaurice, a spokeswoman for Art Basel.

Tags

Miami, Florida, Stabbing, Stabbed, Art, Exhibit, Performance, Witnesses, Arrested, Attempted murder, Security