Police release video as search for NYC Museum of Modern Art knife attacker continues
Victims include two employees
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Police are still on the hunt for a man who stabbed two employees of New York City’s Museum of Modern on Art on Saturday.
Gary Cabana, 60, allegedly attacked the employees, a man and a woman, on Saturday after becoming enraged when he was denied entry.
"He became upset about not being allowed entrance and then jumped over the reception desk and proceeded to attack and stab two employees of the museum multiple times," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said at a press conference.
Mr Cabana was a patron of the museum, but had his membership revoked the day before the stabbing due to previous disturbances.
Both employees, who are 24 years old, were taken to Bellevue hospital and are expected to survive their injuries, which included stabbings to the neck, collarbone, and back.
The NYPD also released graphic footage of the incident, which shows a man hop over the museum’s check-in desk and attack the employees, as bystanders try to stop the stabbing.
Mr Cabana was wearing a colourful patterned shirt, black jacket, knitted hat, and blue surgical mask the day of the attack.
Police said he was “known to the department” but didn’t have an “an extensive record or any arrest records that we are aware of.”
The man was seen on surveillance video fleeing the museum, after which he attempted to enter a nearby church.
“I’ve been briefed on the incident at the Museum of Modern Art,” New York mayor Eric Adams said on Saturday. “We can report that the two victims are being taken care of at Bellevue Hospital and are expected to survive their injuries. We’re grateful for the quick work of our first responders.”
The MoMa was closed on Sunday as the investigation continues.
Witnesses described a chaotic “stampede” at the museum when news of the stabbing arrived.
Someone yelled out, “Shooting!” as crowds of people rushed the doors to exit the MoMa.
“We were really scared,” Julia Garcia Valles, a Spanish tourist, told The New York Times.
Multiple attendees heard rumours or announcements there was a shooting inside the building, even though no shooting occurred.
“I was watching Picasso and Cézanne and suddenly they said, ‘The Museum is closed,’ and people started running. A little panic on the escalators. Then they started shouting, ‘Get out, get out for your own safety!’” another man told the New York Daily News.
One of the victims joked, “I’m going to get hazard pay!” to a passing New York Post reporter.