A homeless artist with no arms was on Tuesday (July 10) charged for allegedly stabbing a tourist in the United States with a pair of scissors, local police say.

Jonathan Crenshaw, a well-known street artist in Miami, Florida, allegedly wielded the weapon using his feet.

The 46-year-old was arrested after officers from the Miami Beach Police Department found the victim, Cesar Coronado, lying on the beach with a bleeding left arm, according to US media reports.

Coronado's friend, Cindy Barrientos, told NBC Chicago on Wednesday that they had asked Crenshaw for directions when he suddenly stabbed Coronado in his arm and ran away.

Police found Crenshaw nearby a few minutes later.

"I'm not from here and this is not what I came for. I came for a vacation," said Coronado, who is visiting from Chicago.

"I just said 'do you know where this is?' but as soon as I talked, the only thing he reacted was he just cut me," he added.

However, Crenshaw claimed that the man had punched him and that he took out the scissors to defend himself.

He faces one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

In an interview with Miami New Times in 2011, Crenshaw said that he was born in Alabama, but moved around a lot as a child.

While he refused to share why he was left without arms, he claimed that his mother had fed him rat poison.

According to the Miami Herald, Crenshaw is a popular artist among tourists in South Beach for his ability to paint on canvas using his feet.