A Palanga, Lithuania, man says he and his companions were confronted by an aggressive group while walking near the Palanga Bridge on an unspecified date, leading to threats and a physical altercation.
Vytenis Partikas told reporters that the incident began after they returned to their vehicle. He alleges the group initially targeted him before turning their attention to his friends. Partikas was with his minor daughter at the time, who witnessed the unfolding events.
“We were walking back from the Palanga Bridge. Of course, they first targeted me, then my friends. I was with my underage daughter, who, of course, saw everything,” Partikas said.
According to Partikas, the situation escalated into a conflict involving threats and physical aggression. He claims a woman with the group was pushed, and there was an attempt to damage their car. He further alleges that one of the individuals brandished what he described as a crowbar or similar metal object and lunged at them.
“There was a conflict. We received not only threats, but they also pushed my friend, and tried to smash the car. They pulled out a crowbar or something similar to an iron object and attacked. My daughter was really scared, so I called the police,” Partikas stated.
Partikas said that by the time police arrived at the scene, the individuals had left, and he believes they continued driving under the influence. “We didn’t wait because we were in a hurry, and when the police arrived at the scene, they were gone, which means they continued to drive drunk,” he explained.
Partikas confirmed he has filed a formal statement regarding the incident and is seeking accountability for those involved. He identified one of the alleged assailants as being from Šiauliai.
“Initially, my friend, who was driving, and his wife were talking to them, and I was sitting in the car with my daughter, but when they took out the crowbar, I thought if they hit the rear window with it, the glass would come towards my child, so I got out of the car,” Partikas said. “A statement has been filed online, and we have some video footage. We recorded the license plate numbers. As far as I recognize, one of them admitted to being from Šiauliai.”
Partikas expressed concern over the aggressor’s behavior and believes the individual may have been under the influence of drugs. “It’s scary when such inadequate people attack… I couldn’t stop him at all because he was so enraged. Well, but after getting out, I said, ‘You, scoundrel, will suffer. Do you have any sense?’ he may have used narcotics, because the aggression is terrible,” he said.
He did find some solace in the fact that the parking area was under video surveillance. “The best thing is that it turned out that this parking lot was being filmed. It will definitely be recorded how they arrived drunk, how they got into the car drunk and drove away. The whole event will be recorded, as well as what it started from, how they threatened us, how they pulled out a crowbar, wanted to smash the car, how they attacked me. Very good… I think the police will definitely take care of it and extract the footage,” Partikas added.
The incident highlights the potential for escalating violence in public spaces and the importance of video surveillance in documenting such events. Partikas intends to pursue criminal charges against the individuals involved, particularly the most aggressive one, and also regarding driving under the influence.
