MoMA Stabbing Suspect Arrested In Philly After Arson: Reports

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The man accused of stabbing two employees at the Museum of Modern Art last week was arrested in Philadelphia after a three-day manhunt, police said Tuesday.

Gary Cabana, 60, was taken into custody around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at a Greyhound bus terminal in Center City Philadelphia, after police received reports that he may have set a fire at a nearby hotel room, according to NBC Philadelphia.

Cabana was sleeping when officers encountered him, NYPD chief of detectives James Essig told reporters on Tuesday.

"They just made the United States safe," a handcuffed Cabana told a reporter from a local Fox affiliate in Philadelphia. "I'm public enemy number one."

The U.S. Secret Service got involved in the investigation after Cabana made threats against ex-President Donald Trump, according to Essig.

Authorities said that Cabana, a Broadway usher who lives in Midtown, leaped over a reception desk Saturday afternoon and attacked two employees after he was denied entry to the Midtown museum. Cabana's membership had been revoked the day prior due to two recent instances of "disorderly conduct," police said.

Friends told Gothamist that Cabana's mental health had deteriorated during the pandemic.

Though police said that surveillance footage recorded the assault and showed Cabana leaving the museum, he still eluded capture for days. All the while, Cabana continued to post on an Instagram account identified by multiple outlets as belonging to him.

"Sadly there will be no more stabbings to entertain you," he wrote Monday morning, in response to a user who had commented on a previous post.

"If U want to see some FUN murderers go see CHICAGO THE MUSICAL on the Bway. Or go snorkeling with the NYPD divers who are frantically searching for the KNIFE that I threw off the BK Bridge on my way home to EBK."

The two 24-year-old victims, a man and a woman, were stabbed in the lower back, back of the neck, and collarbone. Both were taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, police said.

MoMA said it will reopen to the public Tuesday after a brief closure following Saturday's attack.

Once extradited to New York, Cabana will be charged with second-degree assault for the stabbing, another assault charge for a previous incident in which he punched a person in Manhattan, and aggravated harassment for allegedly sending threats over email.

Related coverage:

• MoMA Stabbing Suspect Brags Of Attack As Search Continues
• MoMA Employees Stabbed By Disgruntled Patron, Police Say