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The woman slashed by a deranged vagrant in Soho on Monday is a 25-year-old from Arizona who had been “living her dream” working as an off-Broadway costume designer in the Big Apple, her dad told The Post.

“Moving to New York City was her dream. She’s been doing costume design since she was in middle school,” distraught dad George Berg said Tuesday of his critically injured daughter, Megan Berg.


  Megan Berg, 25, was allegedly slashed by Muslim Brunson. Instagram/maebergdesign Megan Berg, 25, was allegedly slashed by Muslim Brunson. Instagram/maebergdesign

“It’s just crazy. She’s still hanging on. She’s bubbly and loves what she’s doing. She’s full of life.
“We’re hanging on,” he added, his voice cracking. “It’s tough.”

Muslim Brunson, an unhinged career criminal, is charged with attempted murder and assault in the random afternoon attack along a trendy street in the famous Manhattan neighborhood.

Police said Brunson, who has several prior arrests and a history of mental health treatment, walked up behind his unsuspecting victim with a broken bottle and slashed her neck — sending her to the intensive care unit at Bellevue Hospital.

Brunson’s rap sheet includes a 2022 attack on a civilian NYPD worker, who was so badly battered that she suffered a broken eye socket and cheekbone. He also had robbed and assaulted a 13-year-old boy in Brooklyn three years earlier.


  Brunson is accused of slashing Berg in the neck with a broken bottle. FNTV/Dean Moses Brunson is accused of slashing Berg in the neck with a broken bottle. FNTV/Dean Moses

  Brunson, a career criminal, is charged with attempted murder and assault. William C Lopez/New York Post Brunson, a career criminal, is charged with attempted murder and assault. William C Lopez/New York Post

Timeline of a ticking time bomb

  • Aug. 17, 2019: A 911 call is made involving Muslim Brunson, with him hearing voices and wanting to harm others, according to law enforcement sources. He is taken to Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan.
  • Sept. 17, 2019: Brunson accosts a 13-year-old straphanger on a Brooklyn subway, robbing the kid of his iPhone and shoving him off the train when he tries to fight back. Brunson is freed under a special no-jail program that instead mandates mental health treatment — then goes before a judge 36 times over the next three years to ensure he is complying.
  • Dec. 9, 2020: Brunson is reportedly hearing voices telling him to harm others and is transported to Beth Israel.
  • Dec. 16, 2020: He is hearing voices telling him to hurt other people and to not take his medication and is taken to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, sources said.
  • June 18, 2022: Another EDP report involving Brunson is made, saying he needs medication. He is taken to Beth Israel.
  • July 6, 2022: He is tracked down by cops in the subway system for the crime and proceeds to kick one of the arresting officers near the right knee and spit on police, netting another felony assault rap. Brunson is booted from the mental health program, his 2019 and 2022 cases are rolled into one and he is convicted and starts serving a year behind bars.
  • Aug. 18, 2023: Brunson is released from prison.
  • Jan. 24, 2024: He is accused of public lewdness.
  • Feb. 18, 2024: Brunson’s parole ends.
  • April 7: He allegedly throws a glass bottle at a woman on the street in Soho, then picks up shards and slashes another female passer-by in the neck, critically wounding her.

George Berg said Monday’s attack on his daughter has devastated his family.

“My wife flew to New York this morning,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything other than [Megan is] still in ICU.”

Megan has worked on musicals since 2017 back home in Arizona and was most recently an assistant costume designer on off-Broadway productions of “Fallen Angels, The Irrepressible Magic of the Tropics” and “Music City: A New Musical.”


  “She’s still hanging on,” said Berg’s father, George. “It’s tough.” Instagram/maebergdesign “She’s still hanging on,” said Berg’s father, George. “It’s tough.” Instagram/maebergdesign

She earned a bachelor’s degree in theatrical design from the University of Arizona in 2020 and a master’s in costume design from Purdue University last year, according to her resume.

She also has a passion for needlework and dyeing and has won several awards for her work. 

“She’s a sweet girl,” neighbor Jade McLeon, a theater performer, told The Post. “She’s really friendly, lovely. We talked about theater. She’s passionate about theater.”

McLeon said Megan’s partner works on theater sound systems.

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