A man was sent to a hospital after being stabbed near his eye by another fan during a Comic-Con screening.
"Males attending the Green Hornet seminar in room H at the Comic Con got into a verbal argument,” Officer David Stafford said.
The room was crowded and a man allegedly got angry over another man sitting too close to him.
“The males got into a physical altercation and one male struck the other male near the eye with a pen,” Officer Stafford said. “The man was taken to a local hospital.”
Police shut down Hall H, preventing any of the spectators from entering or leaving the building. An NBC San Diego photographer followed the suspect as he was being led away in handcuffs and asked the suspect why he did it.
"Because the guy attacked me first. He told me he wanted to take me outside and I told him I did not want to fight," he said. "He stomped on my leg and then I attacked him back. I am very sorry."
It happened just before Universal Pictures was to present panels on two upcoming films — its sci-fi adventure Paul and Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens.
An NBC San Diego staffer stuck inside the hall said the Comic-Con staff played movie trailers while police investigated the stabbing.
People outside of Hall H said they were shocked by what happened.
"They took [away] an event that means so much to so many people," said Lauren McClain, who was at Comic-Con but didn't witness the attack. "That's stupid, there are no other words for it."
A writer from E! Online was in the hall during the incident and said she could see police take the suspect into custody.
"From my seat towards the rear of the massive Hall H, uniformed officers escorted a male attendee out in plastic restraints, while medics apparently wheeled out another patron on a stretcher," said E! Online's Jen Yamato.
Comic-Con staffers said none of tonight's scheduled appearances would be affected by the investigation.
