The New York City’s Museum of Modern Art was evacuated on Saturday after two employees were stabbed inside the iconic establishment by a man who was involved in two incidents of disorderly conduct at the museum in recent days, police said.
The two employees were stabbed in the back, the collar bone and in the back of the neck and were rushed to Bellevue Hospital within minutes of the attack. They received immediate medical attention and are expected to survive, said Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller during a news conference on Saturday evening.
“At approximately 4:15 this afternoon, an individual entered the museum, attempted to gain entrance presenting his membership card and was denied entrance because his membership had expired. His membership had expired as a result of two incidents involving disorderly conduct here at the museum on two separate dates in recent days,” Miller said.
Miller said upon being denied entrance to the museum, the suspect became angry and then jumped over the reception desk and attacked two museum employees, stabbing them multiple times.
The NYPD is currently looking for the suspect, described as a 60-year-old male wearing a black jacket and surgical mask. His description was released immediately over division radio units in the area and a search was initiated by units that responded to the vicinity of the scene, according to Miller.
The suspect is known to the NYPD, Miller said, and is wanted by the department in connection with two incidents that occurred in Midtown Manhattan, where the museum is located, prior to Saturday’s double stabbing. The man was caught on video leaving the museum and police have a direction of his flight, he added.
“The individual involved in this incident is known to us and we are endeavoring to locate this person right now,” Miller said. The incident is still unfolding and the investigation is in its early stages, he said.
The museum will be closed to the public Sunday, it said on social media.