A drunk man with a knife attacked a Belarusian in Gdańsk. Later, he accidentally walked into his shop.

Igor and his friends were waiting for their friend, who worked at Żabka in Podwale Staromiejski, to finish work. A drunk man entered the store and wanted to buy 3 cans of beer. The cashier then said that alcohol sales were prohibited until 10 p.m. An argument broke out during which a 55-year-old drunk man tried to explain that he had not voted for Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, the mayor of Gdańsk, and that it was she who accepted the ban. When the cashier insisted he would not sell beer, the customer lost his temper.

Then he grabbed a knife, walked up to Igor and swore, telling him to “get out of the country.”

“I was terrified. I never thought it was possible to experience something like that. My legs gave way under me. It was as if my whole life flashed before my eyes. I looked and saw that he was crazy. He could have hit me once and killed me,” Igor recalled.

Later, another store employee approached the attacker from behind and pepper-sprayed him in the face. This gave Igor a few seconds to escape from the store. His friend grabbed the attacker by the sleeve and pushed him out into the street. The cashier quickly led the young men into the store and closed the door, leaving the man with the knife outside.

The incident was recorded by surveillance. The next day, the Belarusian went to the police and reported the incident. An investigation into ethnic threats and hooliganism was initiated.

Igor also works at Żabka, although in another store of the same chain, but in the same district of Gdańsk. The attacker then entered the store where Igor worked. The Belarusian recognized him immediately. “When he accidentally walked into my store, I almost fainted.” He pressed the emergency button on the spot so that the city police could arrive. “I took the money and left for about 5 minutes. Then I came back and gave him the change. <...> I felt really bad.”

According to the interlocutor, the city police drove for 15 minutes, so they failed to catch the client. Igor asked his friend to follow the man. The police were notified and he was eventually arrested.

The attacker was placed under police supervision (he remains free, but must report to the police station every week) and was banned from approaching the victim or the store where the incident occurred. The police also informed that the crimes charged against the attacker are punishable by up to 5 years in prison, but the court may increase the penalty by up to 50%.