Woman stabbed ‘multiple times’ and nearly thrown off balcony at Miami International Airport; man arrested

MIAMI — A woman is fighting for her life in hospital after being stabbed “multiple times” and nearly thrown off a balcony in an unprovoked attack at Miami International Airport late Saturday night.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., uniformed officers were called to the international arrivals section of Terminal J regarding a stabbing.

Miami-Dade police said early Sunday morning that the woman and a man were on the fourth floor when he suddenly “attacked her, stabbing her multiple times and attempted to throw her over the railing.”

The woman managed to escape from the man and ran to the third floor, where officers found her. Other officers intervened to arrest the man on the fourth floor and recover the knife.

Video shared with CBS News Miami shows the woman sitting in the waiting room and bleeding. Miami-Dade Fire Department 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 that people were either trying to help the woman or had fled when they heard what had happened.

“We heard a fight escalating,” the witness said. “And somebody said, ‘Run!’ So there was literally a line of 100 to 200 people, because we had just gotten off the plane.”

Many of those present at the time of the attack were shocked that the incident occurred in such a crowded part of the airport.

“A lot of people were saying it was really scary telling their kids to pick up their stuff and everyone was running,” another witness told CBS News Miami.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez told CBS News Miami that the airport briefly shut down services in the area during the incident and evacuated Terminals J and H, but has resumed normal operations.

“There were people doing business in the airport at the time this happened,” he said. “So it’s predictable that this could create some kind of chaos.”

The airport 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 said. “Authorities responded immediately and the situation was quickly brought under control.”

Meanwhile, officers had also received reports of a possible active shooter at the scene, but were able to determine that was not true after further investigation.

Investigators are currently speaking with the man as the investigation continues. Police have not identified the woman and man or given further details about the stabbing.