Ukrainian Couple Attacked Outside Wrocław Store

A young Ukrainian couple suffered suspected concussions after a group allegedly attacked them outside a neighborhood store in Wrocław, Poland, according to police.

Radio Wrocław reported the attack took place around 6:30 p.m. July 26 in the city’s Zakrzów district. Police say the victims were a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman.

Wrocław police spokesperson Aleksandra Freus said police consider a nationality-based motive probable, though investigators had not established a motive.

Freus said the confrontation apparently began when the couple objected after the group allegedly cut in front of them in a store checkout line. The aggression continued outside, she said.

The assailants allegedly followed the couple from the store and reached them as they tried to enter a parked car, according to the report. They first attacked the man, then struck the woman in the face and head when she tried to help him.

The attackers allegedly knocked the man to the ground and kicked him before fleeing.

Emergency medical workers treated both victims. Doctors suspected both had concussions, while the woman needed stitches after her ear was torn.

Freus said police were waiting for an expert to determine the extent of the couple’s injuries. Police secured video that recorded the attack and were working to identify and arrest those responsible.

The suspected offenses carry a potential prison sentence of up to five years, Freus said.

Radio Wrocław reported, citing information it obtained unofficially, that one suspect may have ties to a Wrocław combat sports club. Police had not confirmed that claim in the report.

The outlet previously reported two other attacks involving Ukrainians in the region: an assault on 19-year-old Władymir in Wrocław after he spoke Ukrainian on the phone, and an alleged attack by a 26-year-old woman on three Ukrainian teenagers at a playground in Legnica.