When Omer and Norma Dogan went to work in their shop, the Rhondda Takeaway, on November 5, 2020, they expected it to be a day just like any other.
The kebab shop in Gelligaled Road, Ystrad, had been steadily growing in popularity since it opened a year earlier, and the couple were extremely excited to see their first business becoming a success within the town.
However, they were about to become part of an incident that left them in serious danger, as a man pointed an imitation firearm at the unsuspecting owners after he was asked to wait outside for refusing to wear a face mask. Despite defendant Paul Griffiths 57, of Penrhys Road, Ystrad, now being jailed for 20 months, the couple say they have been forced to sell the business after the incident left a shadow over their shop, and caused them to suffer a great deal of anxiety in the months that followed.
"The day started just like any other," said football fanatic Omer Dogan, 37, as he sat down to review the CCTV footage of the attack that night.
"We'd opened up as normal and had been ticking over steadily before the incident took place at around 10pm. Up until that point the response we'd had from everyone in the community had been absolutely amazing and we'd never had any trouble, so we really weren't expecting something like this to happen.
"I'd never seen the man before he came into the shop, and it was when I asked him to put on a face mask that things started to take a turn for the worse. He started getting a bit heated and was talking about all sorts of conspiracy theories, so we asked him to step outside where we could hand him his food there. He refused and gradually things escalated to the point where our delivery driver had also asked him to put his mask on, and he pulled out what we assumed to be a gun on us.
"Of course, it was very scary, particularly as I knew my family were working downstairs, so I decided it was best to try and keep him calm and keep him talking there for as long as I could. I knew the police would be on their way and I just didn't want him to get past me or get to that downstairs area."
Meanwhile, the quick thinking delivery driver who escaped through the back of the premises had already called 999. Armed police arrived within minutes and arrested Griffiths while he was still inside the shop, though it was not before a seriously nervous few moments for wife Norma Dogan, 57, who waited in terror downstairs.
She said: "The worst part for us was that we could hear the shouting and commotion upstairs but we didn't know what was going on. We knew he had pulled a gun as the delivery driver had run down and told us to lock the door, and all I kept thinking was that things like this don't usually happen in the valleys.
"When we saw the police arrive it all started to feel real and there was a major sense of relief. I was scared for my husband and I was scared for myself, but it was also bonfire night so there were lots of children around the outside of the shop and I was worried they could get hurt as well.
"We can talk about it calmly now but at the time it was just crazy. It was an awful situation and I think it was made worse in the months that followed by the fact that we didn't actually know it was an imitation firearm. Knowing that could have eased our fears somewhat as we really were left on our last nerve during that period, terrified that this person in the community might come back for us.
"While my husband kept going with the shop I just didn't want to be there after that, and when a number of other staff members had left it just became to much for him to do it by himself. We sold it in March, and to be honest after working so hard to get it going and having so many great customers, I can't even go near it now as it makes me so sad. In my every day life I've also suffered with anxiety, constantly thinking about what could have happened and it's definitely taken a lot to get over."
After Griffiths was arrested, officers obtained a warrant to search his home where they discovered a cannabis factory. The firearm seized by police was a CO2-powered paintball-type firearm which is banned in the UK. Griffiths was charged with possessing an imitation firearm in a public place with intent to cause fear of violence, possessing a prohibited weapon, and cannabis production.
He appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on May 20 after pleading guilty to the offences.
For Omer, who has worked in a number of kebab shops since moving to the UK six years ago, he said he was devastated to sell the shop he once described as his pride and joy, though both he and Norma have agreed that they would love to open up another Kebab shop in the future.
He said: "We worked hard to get the shop up and running and for us it was always a dream to have a place of our own. It makes me feel very sad now it's gone, but that's life I suppose."
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Norma who was born and raised in Rhondda added: "We're not sure where we want to open up yet but we are definitely wanting to start a new place for ourselves as it was something we really enjoyed doing.
"One thing we've been lucky with is that throughout our journey since opening the shop to now, we've always had great support from the community and we never felt alone.
"I want to say thank you to all of the people here for sticking with us during this time and we can't wait to see them all again with what we do next."
