Police are searching for the robber who slashed a 25-year-old woman after she gave her purse to him in downtown Manhattan Monday evening.
Melissa Leslie was walking on Water Street in the South Street Seaport, on her way to watch football with her friends at a bar, when she felt someone tug on her purse, police said.
Moments later, Leslie saw a knife come up to her throat and heard a man telling her to hand over her purse.
"I didn't feel it, I just saw it," she told NBC 4 New York. "I gave him the purse and I think in the midst of him taking it, hit my hand with the blade."
The attacker ran down Beekman Street, and Leslie ran for help.
"She just ran into the bar very frantic," said friend Steve Portland. "When I saw her hand, we ran out of the bar and got to the hospital as quickly as possible."
Leslie went to New York Downtown Hospital, where she had to get nine stitches for the laceration on her hand. She's going to have surgery in a few weeks.
She's seen the surveillance video, and says it's difficult to watch.
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"It's a little surreal to see it actually happen," she said. "I appreciate that they do have footage, and hopefully they catch him."
Leslie said her bartending job is on hold for now, but her real concern is that her attacker get caught.
The suspect, who police said is in his early 30s, was last seen walking westbound down a darkened Beekman Street. He got away with cash, bank cards and a pair of glasses.
