Police said a man who was denied entry to the Museum of Modern Art because his membership was revoked, became enraged, jumped on a desk and hit a woman and a man working at the Midtown institution on Saturday. Knife in the afternoon.
The attack, which occurred shortly after 4 p.m., sent patrons running for the exit.
Sources said both the victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital and their injuries were not life-threatening.
"I'm about to get dang pay!" Made fun of a woman covered in blood as she was taken away in an ambulance.
The 60-year-old suspect, known to police, was initially believed to be hiding in the museum. The building was evacuated but a police search came out empty. John Miller, the NYPD's deputy commissioner for Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, said he was later seen on video recordings leaving the building.
Miller said the man presented a membership card and tried to enter the building, but was denied entry because his membership had been revoked.
His membership was terminated in recent days as a result of two separate incidents involving disorderly conduct at the museum, with Miller stating, "A letter canceling his membership went out yesterday, and he is expected to attend that film today." The intent was shown being played."
He said he was a regular at the museum and that the staff recognized him.
"He got upset over not being allowed entry and then jumped on the reception desk and attacked and stabbed two museum employees several times."
Police said a 24-year-old woman was stabbed twice in the back and once in the neck. According to police, the 24-year-old victim was stabbed in the collarbone.
Miller said the man is being investigated for two prior incidents in Midtown, which he did not provide details of. "That's how he became known to the department," he said. "Furthermore, he has no comprehensive record or arrest record that we are aware of."
Dozens of people in the museum at the time of the stabbing posted on social media that they had been evicted from the building by security without any explanation.
Tourist Wendy Kiefer from Austin, Texas, was entering the museum with her husband and children when the devastation began.
“As we were about to walk inside, we saw hundreds of people running outside at once,” she said, adding that we heard people say ‘shooter, shooter, shooter.
"Everyone was shouting 'shooter, shooter shooter,' so I covered my head," said the boy, shaking. "It was the scariest moment of my life. I had just got into art and I wanted to watch 'Starry Night', so here I came."
"I'm still not over it," Lane said.
John Sanchez, 33, a Connecticut resident, recently visited the museum with his girlfriend. "We were going up the escalator for our first performance and there was only a crowd of people running towards us," he said. “Once you see people running you think let me go to the other side. It was busy.”
"You always expect the worst with people walking that way."
"We were trying to look for Salvador Dali and we couldn't find anything," said Sanchez, still holding his ticket.
A spokesman for Mayor Adams said the stabbing was an "isolated criminal incident."
The mayor later tweeted that he was informed of the incident, noting that the two women were expected to survive. "We are grateful for the prompt work of our first responders," he said. The museum did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The museum and its stores were closed on Sunday, the MoMA announced late Saturday.