By Joerg Bergman
In Manuela Gurk’s (60) shop, no robber will stop by so quickly. Because her lottery shop is in a well-fortified neighborhood. A young gangster and his douche boy (18) felt it on Monday!
The gangster didn’t expect that…
Since 1992, Manuela Gurk has been running her lottery and magazine shop on Grünstrasse at Schlossplatz in Köpenick. On Monday afternoon, an armed man wanted to rob her – on her first day at work after vacation!
“I still thought: ‘You won’t get any money from me’,” says shop owner Manuela Gurk (60). Photo: Joerg Bergmann
“I stood behind the counter shortly before closing time and chatted with the owner of the ice bar next door. I already had the iron rod in my hand to retract the blinds. One man was still standing by the newspapers and couldn’t make up his mind,” says the lottery woman.
Manuela Gurk: “The guy complained because he wanted a certain magazine. I said if she’s not there, there’s nothing I can do. I’m getting off work now.”
But suddenly the 18 to 20-year-old man wearing a corona mask aimed a pistol in her face. He handed a blue bag over the counter, barked, “Put the money in here!”
With his gun drawn and the bag he brought, the robber demands the daily income Photo: Joerg Bergmann
Gurk: “At first I thought it was a joke. Then he snatched the iron bar from my hand and hit the plexiglass pane on the counter with it. I yelled: Help, attack. Get away!” The robber fled, as did an accomplice who was waiting in front of the shop. The resolute Manuela Gurk ran after them.
Her cries for help alerted three business neighbors who were sitting in front of the ice bar – they called the police. Among them also Matti R. (45), former 5000 meter runner: “I heard Manuela scream and saw the men run away.”
Treptow-Köpenick
The former long-distance runner immediately sprinted after the gangsters: “We had one right away, he ran out of breath quickly, I was able to catch up with the other. I grabbed him and took him back to the lottery shop.“
The magazine shop on Grünstrasse in Köpenick’s old town was defended by its neighbors Photo: Joerg Bergmann
They handed the 18-year-old over to the police, but the pistol man was able to break free in the scuffle. He disappeared. However, one of the neighbors took a picture of him and passed the picture on to the police. The Kripo investigators are confident that they will be able to arrest him soon.
Matti R. on the BZ: “Something like this shouldn’t happen in our neighborhood. We all know each other here in the old town and it should remain comfortable here.” And Lottofrau Manuela says: “In retrospect, I think what could have happened. But that’s how I reacted at that moment.”
