A homeless man who pushed a Tube passenger onto the tracks at one of London’s busiest underground stations has been found guilty of attempted murder.
Brwa Shorsh, a 24-year-old Kurdish migrant, shoved stranger Tadeusz Potoczek, 61, at Oxford Circus Underground station in central London on 3 February.
Mr Potoczek, a postman who was on his way home from work, narrowly missed touching the live rail on the southbound Victoria Line.
Tadeusz Potoczek was helped back onto the platform by another passenger. Pic: PA
He was helped back up to the platform by another passenger.
The driver of an oncoming train 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 Shorsh: “You have been found guilty of attempted murder, which is a very serious offence, and a long prison sentence will follow.”
Shorsh will be sentenced on 26 September.
He previously told the court he was “angry” after three women allegedly laughed at him for being homeless, and he felt Mr Potoczek had given him a dirty look.
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The defendant claimed Mr Potoczek had been “very disrespectful to me” and that he did not know a train was coming.
He admitted what he did was “scary” but it was not intended to kill.
Defence counsel Tim Brown told the jury on Wednesday it cannot be disputed that Shorsh pushed Mr Potoczek.
He also said it is clear that the defendant, who was seen smiling in the dock throughout the trial, had shown no remorse for his actions.
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Shorsh had been sleeping rough in England, including inside Tube stations to keep warm, since 2020, the court heard.
On why he pushed Mr Potoczek so hard and on to the track, Shorsh said: “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”.
Source Agencies
