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Man Stabbed At Midtown Medical Office

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A patient stabbed an employee at a Midtown medical facility Wednesday morning, police said.

The incident took place around 10:50 a.m. at ColumbiaDoctors on West 51st Street near Sixth Avenue.

Sources told CBS2 the 51-year-old victim was stabbed in the stomach by a man who got into a confrontation with a security guard in the building.

Man Stabbed At Midtown Medical Office

Elyce Ponte said she and another woman were sitting in a third-floor waiting area when she heard terrifying screams.

"Somebody yelling, "Evacuate! Evacuate! He's got a knife! He's got a knife!" Ponte told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez. "And I said to the lady that was still doing business on the phone, I said, 'They just said there's somebody coming with a knife!'"

"My doctor's staff and secretary took everyone from the open hallway and put them back in the rooms and barricaded the doors," a man said.

Ponte said she hid behind a couch to protect herself from the man while another woman walked toward the stairs not knowing the suspect was walking right behind her with the knife in his hands.

"I said, 'That's the guy with the knife!'" Ponte said. "And she just turned around and saw the knife, and she started screaming. But he didn't hurt her or anything. She just turned around and went back up the stairs."

Staffers used chairs to shield themselves and to try to contain the man. But he was able to break through.

Police say the 25-year-old suspect, an outpatient at the facility, stabbed an employee in the stomach as he ran off.

Security and police quickly caught up with him outside the building and placed him under arrest.

Other patients who witnessed the scare were shaken up.

"It was a little freaky," one man said. "It wasn't like your typical visit to the doctor."

Police said they don't know what set off the suspect.

 

The victim is in stable condition at Weill-Cornell Hospital, sources said. The suspect was taken to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

No charges have been filed yet.

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