10 October 2024 , 19:44
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A man has been jailed for life after pushing a complete stranger onto the live tracks of the London Underground.
Brwa Shorsh went up to the victim at Oxford Circus tube station in February and shoved him into the path of a Victoria line train.
The victim, aged 60, had simply walked past Shorsh while on his way home from work and did not interact with him in any way.
Shorsh, 24, then leapt up and shoved his victim off the platform and onto the live tracks with no explanation or provocation.
The victim thankfully managed to stay on his feet and luckily didn’t land on the electrified rail.
He was helped back up onto the platform by another passerby, who was awarded £1,000 by the judge for his bravery and quick reaction.
Shorsh was sat on a bench when his victim walked onto the platform (Picture: British Transport Police/PA Wire)
Shorsh leapt up and shoved the victim (Picture: British Transport Police/PA Wire)
He fell onto the train tracks (Picture: British Transport Police/PA Wire)
A passerby was thankfully able to pull him back onto the platform in time (Picture: British Transport Police/PA Wire)
The Victoria line train driver had also applied the emergency brake, but he was only seconds away from hitting the victim.
The driver told the court: ‘If he had been on the track a few seconds later, he would have been killed.’
Shorsh had already run away by the time they got to the Tube station, but he was arrested later that day.
When interviewed, he admitted he’d pushed his victim because he says he had ‘given him a dirty look’ which ‘made him angry’.
Shorsh has now been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of eight years after previously being found guilty of attempted murder.
He claimed he didn’t know a train was coming, but in July a jury took just over half an hour to find him guilty.
Maxine Jarrousse-Jones, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Brwa Shorsh attempted to kill the victim by deliberately and forcefully pushing him into the path of an approaching train.
‘He intended to harm the victim and it is impossible to imagine anything that could ever justify pushing anyone in front of a train like that.
‘If not for the victim’s quick-thinking, the courage of the other passenger who came to his rescue and the speed at which the train driver brought the train to a halt, Shorsh’s actions could have cost the victim his life.
‘Commuters should be able to travel freely without fear of violence or harm and I hope this sentencing is a reminder that such acts will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted as fully as the law allows.’