Man arrested after abruptly stabbing a woman in the face in downtown Miami, officials say

Police in Miami say parts of Biscayne Boulevard that were shut down after a woman was stabbed in the face on Tuesday morning have now been reopened.

Video shows a woman walking down the street when a man suddenly attacked her from behind and stabbed her in the face. The man was identified by police as 49-year-old Raydean Johnson. 

According to his arrest report, Johnson is a homeless man that approached the victim when she was walking her dog. That was when she felt Johnson push her from the back to the ground. The report said he punched her in the head several times, slamming it to the ground, before he took out a homemade shank and stabbed her with it. 

A witness described the aftermath of the incident that police say occurred at approximately 10:50 a.m. Asher Safer said he was at a nearby hotel when he walked downstairs and saw hotel employees tending to the woman, who had her dog on a leash with her. 

"When I came out of the bathroom I just heard yelling. 'He just came from behind me. It was just random'. And that's when I saw the standoff over there and they started rolling the police tape. The criminal was screaming into the air," Shafer said. 

Miami Police said in a post on X that Biscayne Boulevard was closed between Northeast 8th Street and Northeast 9th Street in both directions to both vehicles and pedestrians, and people were told to avoid the area. 

Johnson engaged in a hours long stand-off with police that closed a portion of Biscayne Blvd. 

Video from Chopper 4 over the scene showed several police officers appearing to try and speak with a man in the area as the investigation was continuing.

Police said that Johnson then pinned himself along a fence outside of a high-rise building as they convinced him to surrender shortly after 1 p.m. 

The report said that he threatened officers that he would stab them in the eye like he did to the victim. Video then shows the officers tase Johnson so they can pin him down, dearm, and handcuff him. 

After a period of time, the area was reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic and Johnson was taken into custody. He is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery, armed criminal mischief, and resisting an officer with violence, according to his arrest report. 

"It doesn't matter if it takes three, four, or even 10 hours. There are times where officers will remain on scene until it gets dark to make sure of a safe outcome. And that's what happened today," said city of Miami police spokeswoman Kiara Delva. 

In a statement, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that they took the unidentified victim to Ryder Trauma in stable condition.

"Her whole face was bloody, like there was blood coating her face. There was a lot of bloody napkins from her being taken care of," Shafer said. 

The Miami Police Department is continuing to investigate. Johnson is now behind bars awaiting trial.