Dad-of-two blinded in vicious daylight attack outside chip shop
A ‘loving’ dad has been left blind and struggling to make ends meet after being attacked outside a chip shop in broad daylight.
Tarkan Mustafa needs major surgery to rebuild his cheekbone and eye socket after being set upon on a busy high street in north-west London.
The 33-year-old suffered the life-changing injuries as a result of being hit by one of two assailants, who appeared to have a metal object in his hand, and said ‘I done him’ after splitting his victim’s face open.
Tarkan had been chatting to a friend outside a chip shop on Stoke Newington High Street at around 7pm on Wednesday, June 2, when a young man wearing a white theatrical-style full face mask raised on top of his head walked into a nearby shop.
Tarkan tried to joke with the man, who had another mask lowered on his chin, that they wouldn’t let him in if he didn’t follow the rules.
However the culprit took offence, and between five and 10 minutes later he and an accomplice chased the victim and his friend as they walked away from the situation.
‘It happened so quickly,’ Tarkan told Metro.co.uk.
‘We were walking down the road to another chip shop to try and take the sting out of the situation, but out of the blue they ran after us and started attacking me. One of them hit me and they started throwing chairs.
‘I tried to defend myself but they charged into me. One of them hit me in the eye and I stumbled back. I heard one of them say, “I done him”.
‘One of the witnesses has since said that he had some kind of implement in his hand, I don’t know what it was, it could have been a knife or a pole or knuckleduster, but that’s what he hit me in the face with.
‘It’s left me with a ruptured eyeball and fractured my eye socket.
‘Just from trying to be friendly I’ve suddenly been attacked. I’ve done nothing wrong, I’ve said nothing wrong and I was walking away, they were just out looking for trouble.’
Both men, thought to be aged in their 20s, ran off after the attack.
The self-employed builder spent five days in hospital and needed surgery, and has been told by medics that he will never see out of his right eye again. He is due to have a prosthetic replacement fitted and a metal plate inserted in his cheekbone.
Tarkan, from Stoke Newington, says he has been left struggling to come to terms with the vicious assault which has left him struggling to survive without an income.
His family has launched a GoFundMe page to help him financially as he faces spending up to a year recovering.
The crowdfunding appeal describes Tarkan as a ‘happy, carefree, loving brother and father to two beautiful young children’ until the ‘violent and unprovoked attack’.
‘Some days are better than others,’ Tarkan said.
‘I’ve got no income and I’m worried about how I will support my family.
‘All I’ve ever done is help people, I’ve never asked anyone for anything and this has left me asking what I’ve done to deserve this. It’s not as if I’ve had any bad karma or anything, I’ve always been the nice guy.
‘But I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and I’m extremely grateful to everyone who’s donated. All I can hope for now is that the police will find the suspects and make sure they can’t do this to anyone else.’
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed officers are investigating the incident.
Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our news page.