A man accused of trying to murder a postman by pushing him in front of a train at Oxford Circus tube station said he carried out the attack because of a “dirty look”, a court has heard. Brwa Shorsh, 24, shoved Tadeusz Potoczek without warning from the platform just a few seconds before a Victoria Line train was due to arrive.
Mr Potoczek, who was on his commute home, was pulled to safety by a man on the platform, while the quick-thinking train driver slammed on the brakes with seconds to spare to avert disaster, Inner London crown court heard.
“It’s the stuff of nightmares”, said prosecutor Sam Barker. “A case of shocking and random violence.”
When he was arrested, Shorsh - who denies intending to hurt Mr Potoczek - told police that he was “angry” after believing three women on a passing train had been rude to him.
“He said he had done it because the man had given him a dirty look and he felt disrespected”, said the prosecutor.
“He thought his behaviour was just fine.”
Jurors heard Mr Potoczek, a postman by trade, was in a hurry to get home as he was due to catch a flight on the evening of the incident, on February 3. He was seen on CCTV looking at the train arrivals board in the moments before the attack.
“The defendant pushed a total stranger off the platform at Oxford Circus tube station, into the path of an oncoming train”, said Mr Barker.
“Happily tragedy was avoided, but the prosecution say there’s only one reason you would push somebody in front of a train - it’s to kill them.”
Mr Potoczek says he noticed Shorsh lying on one of the benches along the platform, but he was focused on checking when the next train would arrive.
“As he walked past Mr Shorsh, as he drew level with him, Mr Shorsh – without a word and without explanation or any sort of provocation – leapt up and shoved him hard, off the platform and on to the track.”
The court heard Mr Potoczek managed to stay on his feet and landed away from the live rails.
“To his horror”, said Mr Barker, “a train was coming into the station.
“Because he managed to stay on his feet and because of the quick-thinking of a member of the public, he was pulled back out on to the platform.”
The driver put on the emergency brake when he saw the drama unfolding, and says his train was around four seconds away from hitting the fallen man.
Shorsh was arrested when he was found sleeping at Warren Street station later the same evening, and told police in interview that he “had no intention for the man to be hit by the train or electrocuted”, said the prosecutor.
“He was particularly upset because he thought three women on a passing train had looked at him disrespectfully”, said Mr Barker.
“He thought they had been rude and he told them to f*** off.
“He was really angry as a result of it, and importantly he was not able to stand it any longer when he thought Mr Potoczek gave him a look.
“The prosecution says Mr Potoczek didn’t even look at him. That’s what’s so frightening. It’s the stuff of nightmares. He just felt himself being pushed in front of a train.
“The defendant said it was not important to him at all if the man died or didn’t die, because he was a fool to disrespect him.”
Shorsh, of no fixed address, denies attempted murder and an alternative charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
The trial continues.
