Story By: Anna Casap, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Video Credit: Golders/poltava.to
These images show the Deaflympic silver-medallist who walked into a shop bleeding from his neck because he could not call an ambulance for help after being stabbed – allegedly by a fellow deaf athlete.
The shocking incident took place in the city of Poltava, in the northeastern part of Ukraine when customers at the Marketop shop saw a topless man bleeding from his neck standing at the entrance to the busy store.
In the video, customers can be seen standing around the man whose chest is covered in blood and has bandages around his neck. Local media report the victim is taekwondo athlete Vadim Boyarin, who was a silver medallist at the 2017 Deaflympic Games.
Police arrested a suspect, another deaf athlete named Filip Poltavets, a table tennis player.
According to reports, Poltavets is renting a flat near the shop where the scenes were recorded. The pair reportedly got into an argument at the flat when Poltavets allegedly stabbed Boyarin.
The circumstances surrounding the stabbing remain unclear and both athletes are currently in hospital being treated for wounds.
Boyarin reportedly suffered the more serious injuries and reports state he could not call for an ambulance due to his hearing and speech impairment, so he had walked to the shop for help.
He is currently in intensive care and in need of a blood transfusion but his life is not at risk, according to reports.
There are no updates on the suspect’s condition.
Yury Sulaev, a representative of the General Department of National Police in the Poltava Region, said that in the flat where the incident occurred police found “an object similar to a bong” and “a substance of plant whose origin is similar to narcotics”.
The whole flat is reportedly smeared with blood and police are said to be checking whether the athletes used drugs.
Police will conduct interviews with both men using an interpreter once they have recovered.
The Deaflympics are an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level.
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