Tourist Stabbed In Neck In Midtown East Just After Proposing To Girlfriend

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A tourist was stabbed in the head by a stranger in Midtown East, and the attacker was on the run late Monday.

As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, the attack happened shortly after the victim asked his girlfriend to become his wife.

It was a perfectly romantic trip to New York City for Connor Rasmussen, 23, who had made a surprise proposal to his girlfriend, Jordan Asher, 22.

Rasmussen flew in from Washington state along with family and friends so they all could witness the magical moment on Friday in Central Park when he popped the question.

Asher told CBS2 by phone she was overjoyed.

"I didn't know that he was coming to surprise me and propose to me, and I didn't know that he was even there -- and this is his first time here," she said.

Over the weekend the couple and their friends celebrated.

But early Sunday around 145 a.m. at 46th Street and Madison Avenue, Rasmussen got a taste of the worst of the city.

"He dropped me off at my hotel and a group of our friends were walking back to their hotel, and they wanted to get pizza next to it," Asher said. "As he was walking back, a man just came behind him literately stabbed him in the back of his head."

The knife went in near Rasmussen's neck. He managed to pull the knife out of his head, and incredibly suffered no serious injuries.

The attacker ran off down the block. Late Monday, police were reviewing surveillance video.

The attack appeared to be random, and it did not seem that robbery was a motive, since nothing was taken.

As for the future newlyweds, Asher said the incident has not soured them on the city.

"I mean, it can happen anywhere -- it just happened to happen there," she said.

The NYPD is examining that surveillance video in hopes of identifying the attacker.

As WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, the stabbing that wounded Rasmussen happened less than an hour before another stabbing in front of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Times Square.

That stabbing started with a quarrel and left two 25-year-olds hospitalized with stab wounds. Police late Monday were also looking for a suspect in that incident, but do not believe it is the same person who stabbed Rasmussen.

The incidents followed the shooting death of a homeless man near Bryant Park early Saturday morning. The gunman in that incident also remained on the loose Monday.