Newsroom
Two men are wanted by police in connection with an alleged attack in downtown Nicosia, after a man said he was pistol whipped outside a school earlier this week.
According to local media, a 24-year-old foreign national was attacked on Monday in old Nicosia when two men jumped him and struck him with a pistol.
Police said 27-year-old Veysi Badur (suspect 1) and 34-year-old Kaya Dergah (suspect 2) were wanted in connection with the incident but declined to identify their nationality except to say they were from Turkey.
Local reports said the alleged victim was outside the Faneromeni Elementary School in old Nicosia, Monday night around 9pm, when he was attacked by two men.
He was reportedly struck in the head with the handle of a handgun, in a pistol-whip motion believed to have been carried out by one of the suspects.
One of the suspects may have been involved in a previous similar incident in the north, also downtown Nicosia, when it was alleged that he attacked another resident downtown over a dispute
The man was not hospitalized but was treated by doctors who looked for signs of a concussion.
According to media sources, one of the suspects may have been involved in a previous similar incident in the north, also downtown Nicosia, when it was alleged that he attacked another person outside a downtown residence over a dispute while holding a knife.
Police declined to comment further on the suspects or the nationality of the alleged victim, saying they were following official protocol designed to prevent the spread of racial profile generalizations.
The two suspects are facing multiple charges including felony conspiracy, illegal possession of a firearm, and aggravated assault.
Some local media outlets speculated that the suspects may have fled the Republic of Cyprus, while both are believed to be known to law enforcement in the north.
