Man who stabbed two Museum of Modern Art employees has been extradited to New York. Marc Santia reports.
What to Know
- Two staffers at the MoMA were stabbed inside the Manhattan museum in March 2022, allegedly by a former museum staffer who was denied access to the facility the day of the attack
- Gary Cabana allegedly hopped the reception desk, surveillance video shows, and stabbed the two 24-year-olds; he then fled to Philadelphia, where he was arrested after torching his hotel room, cops say
- The 60-year-old Manhattan resident pleaded guilty to arson in that case and was extradited to NYC to face attempted murder and assault charges in the MoMA stabbings
The former Museum of Modern Art member accused of stabbing two employees when he was denied entry into the Manhattan facility nearly a year ago, briefly becoming a fugitive of justice, has been extradited to the city after pleading guilty to setting his hotel room on fire in Philadelphia, where he was captured, authorities said Wednesday.
The NYPD confirmed that 60-year-old Gary Cabana, who told cops who found him sleeping on a Greyhound bus terminal bench in Philly a few days after the March 2022 attack that he "had a bad day," had been charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault in the museum stabbing.
He was walked out of the NYPD's midtown north precinct in handcuffs dressed in an orange jumpsuit, and had nothing to say to reporters who asked him questions.
Attorney information for him wasn't immediately available. He will likely be arraigned Thursday morning, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
Investigators have said museum surveillance video shows the moment Cabana allegedly hops the desk and corners several workers before stabbing two of them. A man wearing a suit and holding what appears to be a walkie-talkie is seen trying to stop him from the other side of the counter. He's seen throwing numerous projectiles at Cabana.
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Eventually, both victims are able to run past their attacker amid the chaos.
News
At the time, NYPD officials said Cabana allegedly tried to gain access to the museum to see a film but was denied because his membership had been revoked a day earlier for repeat disturbances. He had also been informed a day before the attack that his MoMa membership had ended, officials said.
Both museum employees were recovering at home in the days after the attack and expected to be OK.
In the days afterward, Cabana took to social media with a series of rambling posts denying he'd misbehaved prior to losing his MoMA membership. He also tried to minimize the attack, saying it was a "poke poke poke wake-up call" and accused museum staff of framing him.
The Philly arson case stemmed from him torching a Best Western Plus hotel room on Vine Street -- an incident that was also captured on surveillance video.
The hotel receptionist called authorities to say a guest had signed in under the last name Cabana but used his middle name rather than his first, law enforcement sources had said. Philly cops canvassed the area and found him on the bench. He had been held in Philly pending court appearances and psychiatric evaluations there prior to Wednesday.
