COMIC-CON 2010: Stabbing disrupts Hall H activity -- but only briefly

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The normally loud and celebratory crowd in Comic-Con’s Hall H was thrown into a state of rustling confusion before Universal’s panel for the science-fiction comedy ‘Paul’ on Saturday after an alleged stabbing incident.
As attendees waited for Seth Rogen and other panelists to take the stage, security officials stormed up one aisle in the cavernous space with a stretcher. A commotion ensued as hundreds of attendees strained to get a better look (and a hundred cell-phone cameras flashed). A few minutes later, a man with a cut on his face was wheeled out on the stretcher.

A few minutes after that, a man appearing to be in his late 20s or early 30s wearing a white ‘Harry Potter‘T-shirt was led out in restraints (prompting more than a few quips from attendees that he may still be irate after the film franchise’s lackluster event earlier in the day).

There were anecdotal reports from those sitting near the incident that two attendees had been fighting over a seat, and that one of the men stabbed the other with what was said to be a pen. But there was no immediate official word from Comic-Con.
The ‘Paul’ panel was delayed about half an hour as a loop of trailers was shown. Then the panel started, and attendees went back to whooping and hollering.

-- Steve Zeitchik