The identity of a Good Samaritan brutally stabbed after trying to help a young boy retrieve his “stolen” bicycle has been revealed as more than $12,000 is raised for his grieving wife and daughter.
Friends of Petr Levkovskiy said he was “just the kind, good-hearted Samaritan that he always was” when he was stabbed in broad daylight by an alleged bicycle thief in the quiet suburb of Bull Creek on Sunday morning.
A woman who knew the 42-year-old said Levkovskiy “never thought before jumping in and helping someone else”.
“It was just second nature to him,” Anastassiya Onanchenko said in a social media post.
“Nothing was too much trouble. He was one of the most gentle and sweet people, it was a privilege to know him, and we will all miss him.
Camera icon Petr Levkovskiy was stabbed in Bull Creek for trying to retrieve a stolen bicycle. He later died of his injuries. Credit: 9NEWS/9NEWS
Levkovskiy, the father of a teenage girl, was seriously injured in the attack on Sunday morning and died at the Royal Perth Hospital later that evening.
He was at home with his wife when they heard a commotion in front of their property and went to “investigate”.
After learning that his bike had been stolen from one of the young boys outside, Mr. Levkovskiy and his wife offered to help find the missing bike and took their car to look for it.
Police will claim it was just minutes later, around 10:20 a.m., and just around the corner from their home on Camm Avenue near Goddard Way when the couple saw a teenager riding a bicycle on the street and stopped to try and get the bike to get back.
“He spoke to some children… one of them had their push bike stolen, and he offered to help and find the push bike,” said Chief Inspector Leo Ricciardo.
“He was driving through the area with his wife. A short time later, he thought he saw the push bike and a man riding it, so he approached that man and confronted him about it.
“An altercation occurred, and as a result, the 42-year-old man was stabbed in the stomach.”
Bull Creek resident Diya Shivlani told The West Australian she had seen the father crying on the sidewalk and “in pain”.
Ms. Shivlani said she was “absolutely devastated” by the news that the man had died in the hospital.
“It happened on a Sunday morning in broad daylight. It’s scary,” she said.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night.
Camera icon Petr Levkovskiy was stabbed in Bull Creek for trying to retrieve a stolen bicycle. He later died of his injuries. Credit: 9 News/9 News
“We keep thinking, what if we could have done something.”
In a fundraiser for Mr. Levkovskiy’s family on Monday afternoon, Anastassiya Onanchenko described the father as “a kind, wonderful friend, colleague, husband, and father”.
“His warm spirit and generosity was a joy to all who knew him,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page, which has since raised more than $12,000 in donations.
“Petr was killed yesterday (Sunday) after being stabbed with a knife while trying to stop a thief stealing a boy’s bicycle in the middle of the day.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Petr’s family, his beautiful wife Anna, son, and daughter. As you can imagine, they are completely broken.”
The friend said the money raised on the crowdfunding platform will go to Mr. Levkovskiy’s funeral and to initially support his family.
The quiet suburb has been shaken in broad daylight by the incident.
Several detectives went door-to-door on Monday, speaking with residents who may have information about the incident or the person allegedly responsible.
“You wouldn’t expect something like this to happen in a Bull Creek suburb,” Det Supt Ricciardo said.
“You wouldn’t think this would be the end result.
“It would be impossible for me to speak on behalf of the family or how they are feeling at this stage, but it is definitely a tragedy.”
Ms. Shivlani said she and her family, whose house had been looted by a burglary a few weeks earlier, wanted to donate the money they had raised for themselves to Mr. Levkovskiy’s family.
“I know it’s going to be okay, so we want to give that money to the family, and the school community also wants to help, so we’re now working with the police to do that. Other than that, there’s nothing more we can do,’ she said.
“I can’t even imagine what they’re going through.”
Ms. Onanchenko – who started a GoFundMe for Mr. Levkovskiy’s family – said the father and his family had come from abroad to settle in Perth to work just a few years ago.
“He loved Perth, and he loved Australians,” she said.
“It’s hard to believe this happened. Please help his family if you can; they must be devastated.”
No charges have been filed yet, and anyone with any information, CCTV, or dashcam vision is urged to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333,000 or online.