It started with sexist innuendos against a 26-year-old woman. When her boyfriend tried to defend her from the trio of intruding men, he was hit with a machete. For the bloody incident in the middle of June this year at the Na Lipkách camp in Horažďovice, criminals have now charged the attackers with battery, rioting, and dangerous threats.
Jiřina Vítovcová, head of the Klatovy prosecutor’s office, confirmed that the men, aged 20 to 46, were supposed to have attacked the victim together. “They are being prosecuted as accomplices,” the prosecutor said. It first sparked when a woman walked past the table where the accused were drinking beer.
“They shouted at her that she had a nice ass and not to be ashamed to show it to them. They accompanied the rumors with rude gestures. Her partner didn’t like this and tried to calm the trio down. They quarreled, but eventually, the emotions subsided, and the situation calmed down, ” one of the witnesses confirmed.
The attack itself occurred later when the man and his girlfriend were walking away. The three men got up from the table and headed after them. She caught up with them just outside the campsite by the footbridge over the river embankment.
“They ran after us with machetes. I was worried about my girlfriend, so I told her to run and that I would try to hold them off. I stayed standing in the middle of the footbridge and spread my arms to buy time so my girlfriend could get as far away as possible, ” the man who was attacked described the beginning of the drama to the police.
The assailants reportedly surrounded him and began hacking him with machetes. “They told me to put my hand on the railing. I think they wanted to cut it off. There were also words about cutting me. Blood started coming out of my head. I was afraid for my life, ” the victim said. When the attackers saw other people approaching the scene, they ran away.
At that moment, another witness was dialing the emergency line when she heard screams from the footbridge. All three suspects deny any assault. They only admitted that one of the men had warned them not to insult his girlfriend at the campsite.