The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into the stabbing of a passenger aboard a cruise ship on its return voyage to Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday night.
According to a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines, the company that owns the cruise ship where the incident took place, the passenger was traveling on board the Carnival Magic and was on the return leg of the cruise when they were stabbed in the ship's theater.
The Carnival Magic ship was on an eight-day cruise to Canada and New England.
"There was an incident on Carnival Magic on Friday evening involving a guest attacking another guest with a bar glass while in the theater," said a statement by Carnival Cruise Lines sent to Newsweek. "The victim received treatment from the medical team, and the assailant was confined to his room for the remainder of the cruise."
The victim's identity has not yet been revealed to the public. Their condition, as well as the severity of their wounds, is not yet known.
The passenger who stabbed the other was permanently banned from sailing on any other Carnival cruise ships in the future. According to the company's protocol, a security team member should have sat outside the room.
"The FBI and local law enforcement were contacted and came on board the ship upon its arrival to Norfolk on Sunday morning to conduct an investigation," the Carnival Cruise Lines' statement reads. "Carnival security and medical officials fully cooperated with law enforcement should the guest decide to press charges. We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and the assailant guest has been permanently banned from sailing on Carnival in the future but this is now a matter for law enforcement."
Earlier this year, Carnival Cruise Lines announced it was going to beef up security aboard its ships amid an increase in unruly behavior.
A spokesperson for the FBI told Newsweek: "I can confirm FBI Norfolk is investigating an assault on the cruise ship. The FBI typically has jurisdiction to investigate incidents on the high seas, and works to collect the evidence and facts of cases. I have no further details beyond that to provide at this time."
Newsweek contacted the Norfolk police for comment by email on Monday.
The cruise was the Carnival Magic's last trip of the year for Norfolk. The cruise ship has one last trip to the Caribbean this year, after which it will not be back until 2025.
Another passenger aboard the cruise ship told 3WTKR that she witnessed the incident in the theater, which she described as "terrifying."
"Out of nowhere, we heard this horrifying scream, multiple screams, louder than the production itself," she told the television station, explaining that the incident happened during a production.
"When they turned on the light, everybody on that side of the theater was scampering around moving trying to get out of the way," the passenger said. "We were on the opposite side of the theater and had no idea what was happening over there, but I knew it wasn't anything good."
Update 10/24/23, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from Carnival Cruise Lines and the FBI.
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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
