The bride whose wedding at the Waldorf Astoria was rudely interrupted last weekend when a guest's gun somehow fired, injuring a total of five people, is now suing.
The Post reports that bride Anna Goldshmidt and her husband Elan Stratiyevsky have hired lawyer Benjamin Brafman to sue the hotel, and the unintentional shooter, for millions for ruining the wedding day.
"We are planning to sue the Waldorf for the costs of the wedding and the emotional harm suffered by the bride and groom, whose dream wedding was destroyed for no reason whatsoever by Waldorf personnel," the couple said in a statement. "A suit is also contemplated against the shooter, whose recklessness created the havoc."
The incident occurred last Saturday night around 7:30 p.m.; guest Vladimir Gotlibovsky, 42, had a "9mm Ruger in his right front pants pocket when it discharged striking the floor." The ricocheting bullet grazed one wedding guest in the forehead, caused fragment wounds to two other guests, and also injured a fourth.
He was charged with reckless endangerment, assault with criminal negligence and tampering with physical evidence, and his brother Felix Gotlibovsky, 51, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence because he ended up taking the gun away. Felix wasn't the only person to carry the gun: it was reportedly passed around like a hot potato from Vladimir to Felix to their mother to Vladimir’s wife, Maya.
Family and friends kept the shooting from the bride, who was in her suite during the cocktail hour when the gun went off. After the traditional Jewish ceremony, Goldshmidt learned of the shooting when she was informed that the Waldorf had cancelled the reception (because cops still hadn’t found the gun at the time). The Post adds that she "let out a blood-curdling scream" when she found out it was canceled.
