A 20-year-old man who works at the Ballard QFC was physically assaulted on his way to work on Saturday.
Moses Brudnyy was walking past the Ballard Market at 6:40am on August 1st when a man approached him, asking what he thought about Black Lives Matter. His mother, Oksana Peters, tells My Ballard that Brudnyy said he supports Black Lives Matter, and then the man attacked Brudnyy, hitting his face and head until two bystanders intervened to try to stop the attack. Brudnyy and both bystanders sustained severe injuries; all were hospitalized following the incident. The suspect reportedly broke both his wrists during the attack.
Peters says her son was in the hospital all weekend with a severe concussion, a broken nose, swelling, and bleeding. Peters, who lives in Dallas, flew to Seattle to care for Brudnyy, who is back at home healing.
“When I first saw him, his head was the size of a balloon and he could hardly open his eyes,” Peters says, adding that he’s still dipping in and out of consciousness as he recovers.
Brudnyy will be unable to work for some time, so his QFC supervisor Katrina Surdyk set up a GoFundMe to help him during his recovery. Since it launched Tuesday morning, it’s raised $4,299 from 129 backers.
“Moses is one of my checkers. He’s one of my good ones,” Surdyk writes. “A sweet nature, kind heart, laid back, and hardworking kid.
“…No matter how he is treated by some of our more colorful customers, he’s polite, and patient.”
Surdyk says that they’re covering his shifts until he can come back to work, and she’s hoping the fundraiser will help him with his medical bills and loss of income.
Brudnyy’s mother says she’s been frustrated with the lack of information from Seattle Police, but was told by her lawyer that the suspect is in custody and that his case will be heard in the King County Courthouse.
My Ballard has contacted SPD and hasn’t yet received a response; we’ll update when they return our request for information.
Peters says her son is glad to hear that his attacker is in custody, but he’s feeling “very traumatized” she says.
“I want to make sure our voice is heard,” Peters says. “Even in a nice place like Ballard, people can be attacked.”
Photo courtesy Oksana Peters