A man climbed over a reception counter and stabbed two employees as they attempted to leave Saturday, according to video from the NYC Museum of Modern Art.
Both victims - a guy and a woman - and the third person behind the counter managed to flee after the incident. Later in the day, the casualties were stabilized at Bellevue Hospital.
The museum in midtown Manhattan evacuated its visitors. After the stabbing, museum visitors raced for the exits in bewilderment and pandemonium, according to social media users.
Suspect in NYC Museum Attack Remains at Large
Yuichi Shimada, who was present at the time of the attack, tweeted that he was on the second level when a pair came sprinting toward him and that he heard security guards' radios across the museum loudly announcing something at the same time. The 60-year-old suspect named Gary Cabana was able to flee the scene following the stabbings.
Cabana's membership at the museum had been suspended in recent days due to two separate incidences of unruly behavior, according to Miller. A letter advising the suspect of his expired membership was sent out on Friday, but he showed up at the museum on Saturday, indicating he wanted to see a movie, Fox News reported.
Police said the suspect enters the museum lobby through a revolving door, climbs onto the desk, and jumps over it as a man holding what seems to be a walkie-talkie tries in vain to stop him, according to the video released by New York City police.
The attacker, dressed in a black wool hat and a medical mask, approaches three employees stuck in the cramped space and stabs one of them - a young woman who manages to flee seconds later, but not before being stabbed in the back once more.
As the man with the walkie-talkie hurls a notepad at him, the attacker stabs the second employee. This appears to be enough to divert the attacker's attention long enough for the second victim to run. After the attacker flees, the third employee is seen rising from the ground.
NYC Museum Closed to Public After the Incident
The video shows the direction the suspect went after leaving the museum, Miller said. Late Saturday night, police released images of Cabana in the hopes of locating him. The man had no prior arrests in the department's records.
An emailed request for comment on the event was not immediately returned, but the museum announced on social media that it will be closed to the public on Sunday. The museum in midtown Manhattan evacuated its visitors on Saturday afternoon.
On his way out, Shimada was diverted to the side as a stretcher was immediately wheeled in. Outside the museum, police cars and ambulances with emergency lights blazing thronged as dozens of visitors ran away, as per ABC7.
Mayor Eric Adams was briefed on the incident, and his press secretary tweeted that it "appears to be an isolated, criminal incident." In a tweet on Saturday afternoon, NYC's official emergency management agency informed residents of a road closure and emergency personnel on the scene near West 53rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan.
Adams has started putting his comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence and crime in the city into action. Reviving the NYPD's contentious anti-crime unit is part of the plan. Starting Monday, neighborhood safety teams will be tasked with patrolling high-crime areas.
According to the data, the city had a 41 percent spike in overall major crime in the first months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, with over 54 percent more robberies, 56 percent more grand larceny cases, and 22 percent more rape reports. While addressing the gun crisis, Adams published his "Blueprint to End Gun Violence" in January, which includes long-term aims to expand economic possibilities, improve child education, and offer better access to mental health facilities, according to CNN.
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