An Athens man was stabbed Thursday when he refused the give another man a cigarette, police said.

Athens-Clarke County police spokeswoman Hilda Sorrow said Timothy Earl Harper was on his way to visit his girlfriend just before 10 a.m. Thursday when he was approached by a man on Old Hull Road who asked for a cigarette.

“When he told him he did not have one, they began to argue,” Sorrow said.

“Harper said the man struck him in the shoulder and pushed him and walked away,” Sorrow said. “When he arrived at his girlfriend’s residence, he realized he had been stabbed.”

Harper’s girlfriend took him to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Police have not released a description of the suspect, who Harper knew only by his street name.