Two people were stabbed inside the renowned Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in the heart of downtown Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, around 4.30pm local time, leading to a chaotic situation at the iconic museum.

The two victims, both women, were transported promptly to the Bellevue Hospital after police responded and, as per the New York City Police Department (NYPD), both are in a stable condition.

In fact, according to the New York Post, one of the blood-covered victims joked, “I’m going to get hazard pay!,” as she was being stretchered out of the museum.

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Reportedly, the attack was not random and was police believe it was carried out by a former disgruntled employee of the museum.

“He’s known to employees here,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller told reporters at a press conference near the scene of the crime.

According to the police, the suspect is a white man and was wearing a dark jacket, a blue face mask, and sunglasses.

At the time of writing this, the suspect remained at large and had reportedly escaped the museum, where he had been hiding. However, the suspect’s escape was caught on camera and a manhunt is underway to apprehend him.

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Established in 1929, MoMA is one of the most frequented museums in New York City and is regarded as one of the most influential museums of modern art in the world.

In the near 100 years since its establishment, the museum has grown its collection tremendously, and currently houses more than 200,000 “paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, media and performance art works, architectural models and drawings, design objects, and films.”

The MoMA Library also houses an expansive collection and as per the MoMA website, boasts “300,000 books and exhibition catalogs, over 1,000 periodical titles, and over 40,000 files of ephemera about individual artists and groups.”