Cops eye social media posts in search for Museum of Modern Art stabbing suspect Gary Cabana
NEW YORK -- The Museum of Modern Art remains closed Monday as police continue to search for the disgruntled patron who stabbed two MoMA employees over the weekend.
The incident has rattled the arts and culture community in New York City and beyond, CBS2's John Dias reported.
NYPD officers stood guard outside MoMA, which was only open to employees Monday, after Saturday afternoon's violent incident.
Surveillance video shows a man, identified by police as 60-year-old Gary Cabana, jumped behind the reception desk and lunged toward the workers. He stabbed two people, a man and a woman, both 24, as dozens of others ran for safety.
While police are searching for Cabana, they're also monitoring an active Facebook account that appears to belong to him. Sunday, a post by the account called the stabbing at MoMA a "frame job" and said "words are sharper than knives. Bipolar is a tough road to hoe."
The post also said, "It wasn't SCREAM 6 at MoMA it was poke poke poke, wake-up call."
Watch John Dias' report
"[He's] usually quiet. You would never expect such a thing," said Tom Donolin, one of Cabana's neighbors.
Cabana's apartment building is a 10-minute walk from the museum.
"He likes books and he was in the theatre," neighbor Nancy Mako said. "Obviously he likes MoMA, but that relationship is gone."
Mako, who said she's lived in the apartment building for 20 years, told CBS2 she was "surprised" when she saw pictures of the suspect and realized it could be Cabana.
Cabana, a regular at the museum, was denied access to watch a film and his membership had been revoked because of two previous disorderly conduct incidents, according to police.
"To lose it like that, something inside had to be building up," one man said.
Neighbors fear Cabana could return and cause more harm.
"That's terrible, that's scary. He might stab somebody in the building that live here," Jesse Vann said.
"He's not a monster. He is a troubled soul who needs help," a friend of Cabana told CBS2's Kiran Dhillon.
Cabana's friend, who wished to remain anonymous, said they attended Missouri State University together. Cabana, who studied theater, previously worked as an usher on Broadway, according to his friend.
"Goofy, bizarre sense of humor," Cabana's friend said. "I was stunned. It kind of ruined, I mean I didn't get to sleep last night because of all this. It was shocking to me."
"Mental health is not taken care of in this country, as the way it should be, and I think it's a systematic issue and unfortunately Gary is a victim of it," she added.
The stabbing victims were reported to be in stable condition at the hospital and are expected to recover.
MoMA said it plans to reopen Tuesday.
