A man stabbed a woman at Miami International Airport Saturday night, setting off fears that an active shooter was in the terminal, and hundreds of other travellers were evacuated as a precaution, authorities said.

The woman was stabbed around 11:30 p.m. in Terminal J on the fourth floor, outside the secure area. Det. Angel Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department, said the man also tried to throw the woman over a railing, but she was able to get away. Officers recovered the weapon as they arrested the man without incident, he said.

Rodriguez called it an “unprovoked altercation,” but police have not said if the two knew each other. The woman was hospitalized in critical condition with several knife wounds, police said.

Rodriguez said the arrival of responding officers confused some travellers, who thought there was an active shooter. Officers were able to determine there was no shooting, police said.

The attack happened outside the airport’s secure area, but an airport spokesperson said that as a precaution all passengers in Terminals J and H were evacuated and later re-screened by security, The Miami Herald reported.