Driver strikes man with car over parking dispute

Police say they are investigating attempted murder after a local man in Paphos drove his vehicle into another male, who says he was targeted on purpose over a parking dispute.

According to local media, a 39-year-old foreign national was rushed to the Emergency Room at Paphos General Hospital on Wednesday after sustaining a serious but non-life-threatening injury, with reports saying he broke his leg during a vehicular incident.

The incident took place in the evening, around 9:10pm at a parking lot of a residential building, where a resident described as an asylum seeker was struck by a vehicle driven by a 43-year-old Greek Cypriot male.

Police sources told Knews the two men had an ongoing dispute over parking spaces but officials stopped short of confirming whether the local man was also a resident at the building in question.

Officers arrested the local driver shortly after midnight on charges of attempted murder, with police telling Knews that additional or lesser charges could not be ruled out in the case.

The suspect, who had left the area immediately following the incident, admitted to investigators that he was behind the wheel, according to media reports. 

But local media said the suspect also told investigators he had no intention to kill the resident, who was on foot at the time of the incident.

Police declined to provide further details but additional reports said the suspect told investigators he left the area so that the situation would not escalate further.