Police in New York were on Monday still looking for a suspect who stabbed two employees at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on Saturday, after being denied entry due to a revoked membership.
The suspect, whom police identified as Gary Cabana, 60, was seen on surveillance video jumping over a reception desk and stabbing two employees, the New York Times reported.
Police said Cabana’s membership was revoked due to two prior incidents of disruptive behavior. Cabana received a letter on Friday rescinding his membership, but showed up to the museum on Saturday saying he wanted to watch a film.
In video, Cabana is seen hopping over the reception desk with a knife and cornering three employees. After stumbling into a wall, Cabana proceeds to attack the employees who are hiding underneath a desk.
Two employees were stabbed. A third managed to run past the suspect after a museum security guard, standing on the other side of the desk, threw what appeared to be a large binder at Cabana, temporarily distracting him.
One victim, a 24-year-old woman, was stabbed in the back and neck. The second, a 24-year-old man, was stabbed in the left collarbone. Both were taken to Bellevue hospital and listed in stable condition.
The attack happened just after 4pm ET, one of the museum’s busiest times, CBS reported.
The last known address for Cabana was at a supportive housing unit in Manhattan run by the non-profit Breaking Ground, which provides housing for low-income people, people with mental illness and those who have been diagnosed with HIV/Aids, the Times said.
A user writing as Cabana has remained active on social media, making a series of posts. One post on Facebook said he had bipolar disorder and was “triggered” by a woman who told him to quiet down during a film.
“Bipolar is a tough road to hoe,” the user wrote. “Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. THEN U get framed ind [sic] evicted from MoMA (not just the movies, ALL THE ART too) by a bitter old woman who shushes U when U LAUGH during a comedy.”
In further messages to a reporter at the New York Post, the user blamed workers at the museum, accusing them and a woman named as Barbara of conspiring to ban him and noting that he was upset at not being able to see Starry Night, a painting by Vincent van Gogh.
“The stabbed girls were in on the BACKSTABBING too,” the user wrote. “I don’t backstab, I do the frontside only.”
Police said they were aware of the social media posts and were investigating.
MoMA was closed on Sunday. A representative confirmed the museum, which is always closed to non-members on Mondays, would reopen to the public on Tuesday.
