Woman stabbed "multiple times," almost thrown over balcony at Miami International Airport; man arrested
MIAMI — A woman is fighting for her life at the hospital after she was stabbed "multiple times" and almost thrown over a balcony in an unprovoked attack at Miami International Airport late Saturday night, police said.
Just after 11:30 p.m., uniformed officers were called out to the International Arrivals section of Terminal J regarding a stabbing.
Miami-Dade Police said early Sunday morning that the woman and a man, identified as 29-year-old Alexander Love, were on the fourth floor of the terminal when he suddenly "attacked her by stabbing her multiple times and attempted to throw her over the railing."
The woman was able to escape from Love and ran downstairs to the third floor, where officers found her, according to police. Additional responding officers took Love into custody on the fourth floor and recovered the knife. No charges were announced as of publication.
A video shared with CBS News Miami showed the woman sitting down in the waiting area of the airport's terminal and bleeding. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and transported the woman to JMH Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
A witness told CBS News Miami that several flights were arriving when the incident happened, and people either tried to help the woman or ran away from the terminal.
"We heard the escalation of a fight," the witness said. "And somebody said 'run!' So, you literally had a line of 100 to 200 people easily because we had just come off the plane."
Many who were there at the time of the attack said they were shocked that it happened in such a congested part of the airport.
"There was a lot of people saying how it was really scary telling their kids to pick up their stuff and everyone was running," another witness told CBS News Miami.
The airport briefly shut down services in the area during the incident and evacuated Terminals J and H, but has since resumed normal operations, Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez told CBS News Miami.
"There were people that were conducting business in the airport while this happened," he said. "And so, it's expected that it can create some sort of chaos."
We are aware of an incident that occurred this evening at Miami International Airport Concourse J international greeters lobby.
— Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) July 21, 2024
We want to assure the public that the situation is under control and the safety of our passengers, staff, and visitors remains our top priority.… pic.twitter.com/UT5BIJUbwV
MIA also shared a statement on X regarding the incident, reiterating that the situation at the terminal was now "under control."
"We want to assure the public that the situation is under control and the safety of our passengers, staff, and visitors remains our top priority," MIA stated. "Authorities responded immediately, and the situation was swiftly contained."
Meanwhile, officers had also received reports of a possible active shooter on scene but they were able to determine that was not true after further investigation.
Detectives are currently talking to Love, who remained under custody, as the investigation continues. Police have not identified the woman nor released further details about the stabbing.