Off-Broadway costume designer survives horrific stabbing in SoHo

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- The woman who was attacked in SoHo and stabbed with a glass bottle recently moved to Manhattan from Arizona to pursue her passion for theater costume design. 

Megan "Mae" Berg, an off-Broadway costume designer, was well on her way to success, having just completed an apprenticeship with Mickey Nugent, an Arizona-based director from her hometown.

“She’s a lovely, lovely individual, and when I heard this news, you wonder why things happen,” Nugent said. “Why does God have things happen to the nicest human beings?”

The 25-year-old was randomly and viciously stabbed in the neck with a broken glass bottle on Monday in SoHo. Good Samaritans initially helped save her life, and doctors performed a second surgery on her neck Tuesday.

“Word got out from the theater—she survived the surgery and is expected to survive,” Nugent said.

Nugent had been working on a production with Berg’s mother back in Arizona when the news broke. Berg’s mother flew to New York overnight to be by her daughter’s side.

“I’ve been numb for like 12 hours here,” Nugent said.

The suspected attacker, 46-year-old Muslim Brunson, is homeless and mentally ill, according to sources. Court records reveal two previous convictions: one in Brooklyn in 2019 for assaulting a young boy on the subway, and another in 2022 for breaking the eye socket of an NYPD employee at a Manhattan subway station. He served prison time for both.

Brunson was arrested again Monday following the unprovoked attacks on Berg and another woman. He has been charged with attempted murder and assault.

After this near tragedy, Berg’s loved ones are holding onto hope for a happy ending.

“She has the spirit of a wonderful Gilded Age lady—classy, 25 years old,” Nugent said. “She’s going to do just fine. She’s talented, kind, and loving.”