“I would do it again. I live not far from that place and I can’t imagine that someone would attack someone from my family like this,” Martin, who did not wish to give his last name, confided to the editor of iDNES.cz.
The described situation took place in the middle of April shortly after noon at the Jewish cemetery in Brno’s Židenice. According to a video released by the police, a 20-year-old man in shorts and a tank top grabbed a woman’s purse while getting off the tram, and she then ran after him.
“From the car, I saw a lady and a man struggling over a purse, from which things began to spill out. The gentleman then started running. I stopped by the lady and asked what happened so there would be no misunderstanding. When she assured me that the gentleman had robbed her, I turned the car around and tried to find him,” explained Martin.
A few moments later, while passing through Chudobová Street, he saw a thief running directly towards his car. “I stopped, ran out, grabbed his hands and threw him on his side. There were enough people around, so I shouted that the gentleman is a thief, to call the police. But no one responded to that, everyone just kept watching. So I knocked him down, took out my cell phone and called the police myself,” explained Martin.
Notification will also help, the police officers appeal
According to him, the patrol arrived in about five minutes, until then he was talking on the phone with the dispatcher and kept the thief motionless on the ground. He did not feel the fear that his opponent might be armed with a knife, for example.
“I held him by both hands, threw his backpack to the side, and he had nothing in his pockets. I have some experience with this, because I work in my parents’ store, where something like this happens quite often. Besides, I’m not a crumb. My wife and I are similarly set up in such a way that we should help each other in such situations. She has also intervened a few times when needed,” described the brave man.
The detained young man ended up in a police cell and was charged with theft and unauthorized provision of a means of payment, for which he faces up to two years in prison.
The police appreciated Martin’s presence of mind and courage. “We are glad that there are people who are not indifferent to what is happening around them. There is no need to throw yourself into danger, but you can be of great help by reporting immediately and anonymously to the emergency line,” said police spokeswoman Petra Hrůzová.
Martin himself did not want to make a big science out of his event. “But I would like people who witness a similar situation to help in any way they can. Perhaps even a description of the perpetrator. They don’t have to go after him right away, but they shouldn’t let him get away with it,” declared the hero from Brno.
