SEATTLE — A Ballard QFC employee was brutally attacked on Saturday while he was on his way to work after reportedly saying he supports Black Lives Matter.
He’s out of work while he recovers, and the medical bills are piling up.
“Especially with COVID and stuff going on, I just started walking a lot more,” said Moses Brudnyy.
He was walking to work for his early morning shift at the Ballard QFC.
He was on 15th Street by the Ballard Market when he said an African American man asked if he supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I was just like, ‘Yeah, man, Black Lives Matter. Like 100% I agree.’ Before I could even say anything, before I could even finish up what I was saying he like reached back and absolutely started punching me,” Brudnyy explained.
He was punched repeatedly, and his head hit the pavement before two people saw what was happening and pulled the man off him.
“I am grateful to the two men that intervened and tried to save my son’s life by putting their own life at risk. It’s very, very touching,” said Oksana Peters, Brudnyy’s mother.
She flew in from Texas to be by her son’s side as he recovers.
He suffered a concussion, broken nose, bleeding and bruising and spent a few nights at the hospital.
“He’s young, he makes minimum wage, let’s help him out. This is horrific,” said his supervisor at QFC Katrina Barton.
Barton said Ballard Swedish Hospital where Brudnyy was taken does not accept their insurance leaving him with medical costs.
She set up a GoFundMe page that’s collected over $20,000 in donations.
“Everybody down there has stepped up. This entire community has stepped up. It’s actually kind of given me a little more faith in what’s happening in our world today to see the outpouring for Moses. It's really amazing,” Barton said.
Instead of focusing on the attack, Brudnyy is grateful for the people in his life.
“This guy, obviously he could have been going through something horrible in his life that clouded his judgment,” Burdnyy said. “Most people out here are good people, and we’re all just kind of trying to make it to the next day.”
“It feels like he has a family here. He has his second family right here, his work community,” said Peters.