In Gdańsk, a man attacked a Belarusian with a knife, then accidentally walked into his shop — and got caught

It's forbidden to sell alcohol after 10 PM in the city, so the cashier refused the customer. This enraged the visitor — he pulled out a knife and for some reason decided to vent his anger on the Belarusian visitor. The young man told Most how he escaped that evening, and then accidentally met the attacker and tracked him down.

His legs gave way, his whole life flashed before his eyes»

That evening, Ihar and his friend went into a Żabka shop on Podwale Staromiejskie street. Their mutual friend works there. His shift was supposed to end soon, and all three planned to spend the evening together. The friends waited near the shop entrance, conversing in Russian.

At this time, a 55-year-old intoxicated man placed three cans of beer on the counter. The cashier explained that by law, he could no longer sell alcohol at that time, and put the cans aside. The visitor clearly didn't like this. First, he started arguing. Ihar recalls: the customer said that the restriction was introduced by Aleksandra Dulkiewicz — the president of Gdańsk — and that he, allegedly, didn't vote for her. When the cashier explained that he wouldn't sell the beer anyway, the customer became enraged.

He pulled out a knife, approached Ihar, and, swearing and brandishing the weapon, started shouting for him to «get out of his country».

— I just had a crazy fear. I never thought such a thing could even be felt. My legs gave way. It was as if my whole life flashed before my eyes. I just look and see that he is inadequate. He could strike once — and kill, — Ihar recalls.

He fell to his knees and began to beg not to be killed. At that moment, a shop assistant, who had been sweeping the floor, jumped at the man from behind and sprayed his face with pepper spray. This gave Ihar a few seconds to escape from the shop.

Then his friend grabbed the attacker by the sleeve, threw him to the floor, and dragged him outside. The cashier quickly let the young men back into the shop and locked the door from the inside. The man with the knife remained outside.

«When he accidentally came into my shop, I almost fainted»

The incident was recorded by surveillance cameras. The next day, the Belarusian went to the police and reported the incident. A case was opened on the facts of threats on national grounds and hooliganism.

Ihar also works at Żabka — in another shop of this chain, but in the same district of Gdańsk. He assumes that after the incident, the troublemaker was afraid to go to the previous shop and therefore soon appeared at his outlet. The Belarusian immediately recognized him.

— When he accidentally came into my shop, I almost fainted. I just started shaking. My blood pressure probably spiked.

Ihar immediately pressed the emergency call button and tried to buy time for security to arrive. Apparently, the man didn't recognize him, but the Belarusian believes that from his behavior, the attacker still understood that something was wrong.

— I took his money and stepped away from the cash register for about five minutes. Then I came back — and gave him his change. It was incredibly strange. Plus, my hands were shaking, I felt very bad, — Ihar explains.

Friend helped track down the customer

City security, according to the interviewee's feelings, took about 15 minutes to arrive, so they didn't find the visitor. After the unexpected encounter, Ihar closed the shop briefly to compose himself. He asked a friend to follow the man and see where he went. This information was passed to the police, and the troublemaker was soon apprehended.

The man was placed under police supervision (he remains at large but must report to the police station once a week), and was also prohibited from approaching the victim and the shop where the incident occurred. The Belarusian received a letter from the prosecutor's office regarding the progress of the investigation. The police reported that for the crimes the attacker is accused of, he faces up to five years imprisonment in Poland, but the court may additionally increase the punishment by one and a half times.

• 14
• 0
• 5
• 9
• 13
• 5
• 4
• 0