A homeless man is accused of slashing two women with a pocket knife Sunday afternoon in downtown Dallas.

Branden Holbert

Branden Holbert, 22, accused three women who were standing at North Ervay and Main streets about 12:15 p.m. of taking pictures of him, police said.

He began ranting incoherently and reportedly pulled out a pocket knife and threatened the women, police said.

Two of them ran into the Wilson Building in the 1600 block of Main Street, where the man followed them into an elevator and cut their faces, arms and shoulders.

One wounded woman escaped from the building, and someone took the other into an apartment.

Both women's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

A sign on the door at the Wilson Building in downtown Dallas where a man reportedly cut two women with a pocket knife Sunday afternoon. (Allan James Vestal / Staff)

A bystander held the Wilson Building's exterior door closed, trapping Holbert inside until police arrived.

He faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault causing bodily injury.

Karl Muller, 52, was sitting at the Press Box Grill with his wife when word spread through the restaurant "somebody got stabbed" in front of the restaurant next door. When he went to see what happened, he overheard a police officer say there was "a whole bunch of blood in the lobby."

A note from the property's management team on the door said the lobby would be closed "until further notice due to a recent incident that occurred today."

Muller, who has lived in downtown for 17 years, said the incident "is not surprising" because crime in the area seems to be getting worse.

"We've invested a lot of time, energy, money living downtown, and it just seems like it's getting worse," he said. "There's rarely a police presence down there unless something happens."

Updated at 9:35 p.m.: Revised to change the spelling of the suspect's name.