The Morton County Sheriff's Department is investigating a report of a man being stabbed while changing a tire on a county road north of Mandan.

Sheriff Dave Shipman said a 24-year-old man with a stab wound was brought to a Bismarck emergency room by a friend Thursday morning. The man reported he had been robbed while changing a tire on County Road 140, about six miles north of Mandan.

Shipman said the man works at a power plant in the Stanton area and lives in Hazen. He decided to drive to Bismarck to visit a friend after working until early Thursday morning.

While en route to Bismarck, the man's vehicle got a flat tire. While he was fixing the tire, a light blue sport utility vehicle with two men inside pulled up behind his car.

The Hazen man reported the men said something to him about his flat tire, and when he looked up, one of the men struck him in the face. Shipman said the man reported being punched repeatedly in the head by that man, then kicked by the other man.

The man who punched the Hazen man then pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed him in the rib cage, Shipman said. He said the man reported the two men stole his money, then left.

The man called his friend, who took him to the emergency room in Bismarck, where he was treated and released, Shipman said.

He said the case remains under investigation.

One of the men suspected in the assault is described as white, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 180 pounds. The other is described as black, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and 170 pounds.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the incident should call the Morton County Sheriff's Department at 667-3330 or Bismarck Area Crimestoppers at 224-TIPS (224-8477).