Moment homeless migrant shoves man onto Tube tracks 'for giving dirty look', as he is convicted of attempted murder
31 July 2024, 14:45
Moment man pushes passenger onto Tube tracks
This is the moment a homeless migrant shoved a man onto the Tube tracks "for giving him a dirty look".
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Kurdish migrant Brwa Shorsh, 24, attacked Tadeusz Potoczek, 61, at Oxford Circus Underground station on February 3.
He was found guilty of attempted murder on Wednesday, and was warned he faced a long prison sentence.
Shorsh, who had been sleeping rough since 2020, thought Potoczek, a stranger, had given him a dirty look, prosecutors said.
Mr Potoczek, a postman who was on his way home from work, narrowly missed touching the live rail on the southbound Victoria Line. A fellow passenger hauled him back up and he suffered no lasting physical injuries.
Read more: 'Tube Pusher' shoves man onto the tracks at Stockwell station
The driver of an oncoming train has said that "if he had been on the track a few seconds later, he would have been killed", Inner London Crown Court heard.
Shorsh was found guilty by a jury after 32 minutes of deliberations.
Mr Justice Kelleher told the defendant: "You have been found guilty of attempted murder, which is a very serious offence, and a long prison sentence will follow."
He will be sentenced on September 26.
Shorsh had denied attempted murder and attempted grievous bodily harm.
He claimed that three women had laughed at him for being homeless, which made him angry, and that Mr Potoczek had given him a dirty look, which he felt was "very disrespectful".
Shorsh said that his shove was "scary" but that he did not know a train was coming and had not intended to kill Mr Potoczek.
Shorsh added: "He made me angry and I hated him."
He later told the court: "I am sorry for what happened. I did not intend to kill him and I am not a murderer."
He said in that split second "I wanted revenge".
