A young woman suffered non-fatal stab wounds at Art Basel Miami Beach Friday night, local police confirmed to the Miami Herald.
The unidentified victim said she confronted a fellow fairgoer after the woman followed her around the fair bumping into her. The alleged stalker then reportedly became enraged and attacked the victim with an x-acto knife, slashing her chest and neck.
Art Net News said the alleged stabber told police “I had to kill her and two more! … I had to watch her bleed!” while she was being arrested.
The suspect is in police custody; the victim was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Herald said. Police told NBC Miami that the alleged perpetrator is being charged with attempted murder.
The bloody kerfuffle took place in the NOVA section of ABMB, where emerging art is showcased, in front of the Freedman Fitzpatrick Gallery booth. Multiple outlets are reporting that some witnesses thought the attack was a performance piece.
One unidentified gallerist told the Herald she heard a scream around 5:30 p.m. yesterday and found a woman on the floor bleeding from the neck.
Patrons were rattled when they learned that the police tape and blood on the floor of the Convention Center were not some performance stunt.
“It’s horrible … I’m so freaked out,” artist Naomi Fisher told the Herald. Her work The Swamp of Sagittarius was on display at Freedman Fitzpatrick, near where the attack took place. “I feel nauseous,” she said.
An ABMB spokeswoman gave the following statement to the paper:
“The attack was an isolated incident that was immediately secured. The suspect was apprehended by police who were at the scene within seconds of the incident. … Our thoughts are with the victim.”
It’s unclear, of course, whether the incident will hamper attendance to the massive fair, which ends tomorrow.
