A shopkeeper who was stabbed by a robber “until the blade bent” said today: “I 100 per cent thought he’d kill me.”
Ali Gok, 50, was knifed at least three times after Alfie Leach, 31, burst into his post office in Arnos Grove early on a Sunday morning screaming “open the till”.
Mr Gok, who was working alone, said: “It was non-stop. I couldn’t tell if he just wanted money. All the time he was trying to stab me.
“It was in the stomach and in my side, but because the knife bent it wouldn’t go straight in me.
“He kept saying, ‘Open the till,’ and I was telling him to calm down. I 100 per cent thought he’d kill me. I was so panicked. I’m lucky he didn’t catch an artery. It must have been a very cheap knife.”
CCTV footage shows Mr Gok wrestling Leach to the floor as stock from shelves is sent flying. The shopkeeper is then seen pinning Leach to the ground for five minutes before a customer enters and calls police.
Mr Gok kept hold of his assailant for another 10 minutes as officers sped to the scene. Leach, who wore a red baseball cap and grey hoodie, had wrapped cloth around his knife hand to help with his grip, Mr Gok said.
“He was saying, ‘I’m not myself, I don’t know what I’m doing.’ But I didn’t believe him,” he added.
Leach, who lives about 500 yards from the shop, was arrested at the scene on July 22. He was sentenced at Wood Green crown court on Monday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted robbery.
Dc Joel Gregory said: “The victim of this attack was incredibly lucky to escape with only superficial wounds after Leach stabbed at him repeatedly and with so much force that the knife he was using bent.
“A callous and dangerous man is now off the streets and behind bars.”
Mr Gok, who is originally from Turkey and has worked at the post office for two years, was back at work a day after the attack. On Leach’s sentence he said: “We were told he might get out early if he behaves well in prison but he should stay there for the full three years.”
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