Two 24-year-old employees were stabbed to death inside MoMA, New York’s prestigious museum of modern and contemporary art, on Saturday. The place was evacuated and the assailant is still at large.
The two employees were injured “in the back, collarbone and neck” and were immediately hospitalized, said New York Police Department (NYPD) Assistant Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller, who clarified that the lives of the victims were not in danger.
The MoMA is one of the most visited museums in New York. The police installed a security cordon and the museum remained closed on Saturday.
At the origin of 2 incidents in recent days
According to the police, the suspect, who had not been arrested late Saturday afternoon, is a regular visitor whose membership card had just been withdrawn because he had caused two incidents in the museum these “ last days”.
The incident occurred when he was refused entry to the MoMa: “He got angry (…) jumped over the reception desk and attacked and stabbed two museum employees, several times”, described John Miller.
This Sunday, the NYPD published the portrait of the main suspect on social networks.
NYC: Do you know him? Earlier today, inside the @MuseumModernArt he stabbed a 24-year-old male employee and a 24-year-old female employee then fled. Both victims are in stable condition at an area hospital. If you have any information, contact @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/hkEezq6rQk
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 13, 2022
Several videos and photos posted on social networks or by the media showed visitors leaving the museum at the time of its evacuation.
The MoMA has masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Frida Kahlo.