Escalation of the problem with scooters in Podhale. “He threw a punch, he had a knife”

Problems with quads and snowmobiles in Podhale are not new. Snow rides have been pleasing tourists for years, but they are a nightmare for highlanders, whose fields are being run over. Residents unsuccessfully demand that routes be designated for driving. In addition, there is the annoying roar of vehicles. The conflict between local residents and companies that organize trips for tourists escalated last weekend.

Snowmobile war. The conflict got out of control

On Sunday, a group of residents decided to talk to the owner of a snowmobile rental in Stachonie about the problem. There they found staff and customers who were already sitting on scooters. According to the Zakopane Nasza Miasto website, residents ordered their vehicles to turn off their engines. When the owner arrived, the situation was out of control.

A recording of this incident appeared online. “We came here as a courtesy and a request…” – one of the women heard in the video begins the conversation. There is no willingness on the other side to reach amicable solutions. The video shows the man walking briskly towards the group, holding a sharp tool in his hand. Suddenly he pushes one of the men. Another person tries to calm him down.

“He was attacking me like crazy and punched me in the chest. He had a hidden knife in his hand. I defended myself only because I practiced, I had trained self-defense techniques before. I shielded myself, my hands are injured. (…)” – the injured man, Mr. Krzysztof, reported in an interview with tp24.pl. Terrified witnesses called the police. They pointed out that the attacker was under the influence of alcohol.

Charges against the attacker

The man was charged with causing moderate bodily harm, assuming that the act was hooligan in nature. The second charge is making threats while assuming that the perpetrator was acting as part of a hooligan act.

The injured party has hand injuries. “They occurred because the attacked person was defending himself against the blow and grabbed the knife with his hand. These are not serious injuries. In this case, we are cooperating with the Zakopane police, who are conducting the investigation and were at the scene of the incident,” prosecutor Aneta Hładki, head of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Zakopane, told the Onet portal.

Residents do not know how to deal with the problem

“(…) these companies illegally drive on private fields. My field and that of other people who came to protest. We don’t have even a penny from it, and in spring the land is so plowed that nothing will grow on it,” said Mr. Krzysztof in an interview with Onet.