Novi Sad Knife Attack: N.T. (30) Arrested Over Stolen Watch
Police arrested N.T. (30) from Stara Pazova, ordered by the Novi Sad prosecutor's office, on suspicion of knifing a 54 year old man from Djurdjevo at Trg Galerija and trying to steal his watch.
Officers of the Serbian Ministry of Interior in Novi Sad have arrested N.T. (born 1996) from Stara Pazova on grounds of suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of attempted robbery. The arrest was carried out on the order of the Novi Sad Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office, the ministry said in a statement.
The attack happened the evening before, on September 17, at Trg Galerija in Novi Sad. According to the ministry’s statement, the suspect threatened a 54 year old man with a knife while trying to steal his watch, and stabbed him in the process.
The Moj Novi Sad portal, citing Blic, reports further details of how the attack unfolded. The injured party is a 54 year old man from Djurdjevo, identified by the initials V.M. According to that reporting, the suspect waited for him to get out of his car, then punched him in the head with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground.
Still holding the knife, the attacker went on to hit the man with his fists and feet and tried to pull the expensive watch off his wrist. When that failed, he stabbed him in the abdomen before fleeing toward Vase Stajica Street.
Police quickly identified and located the suspect, along with the knife believed to have been used in the attack. Per the ministry’s statement, N.T. has been ordered held for up to 48 hours. Along with a criminal complaint, he will be brought before the competent public prosecutor in Novi Sad, who will decide how the pre-investigation proceeding continues.
Until the proceedings are finally concluded, N.T. is charged with attempted robbery and is presumed innocent.
Meanwhile, a 37 second clip of the attack has begun circulating on Instagram. The newsroom has not independently verified the footage and is not publishing it, and its possible existence does not change the fact that responsibility is for the competent court alone to determine.
The case is in its early stage, in pre-investigation proceedings, and the next step is for the suspect to be brought before the prosecutor in Novi Sad.
