Man attacks two tourists with knife near ancient Acropolis site in Greece
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Tourists visiting the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, on July 21.
PHOTO: EPA
- A 60-year-old man attacked two Greek-American tourists with a knife near the Acropolis in Athens on July 21, causing non-life-threatening injuries.
- The attacker has a history of mental health issues and prior arrests for knife possession, and was arrested immediately after the incident.
- The attack shocked visitors during Greece's first summer heatwave, with eyewitnesses describing panic and people running away.
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ATHENS - A 60-year-old man attacked two Greek-American tourists with a knife on July 21 in the Acropolis area, near the archaeological site which hosts Greece’s famed ancient monuments, before being arrested by police.
The two victims, a man and a woman aged 73 and 78 respectively, were offered medical aid and their injuries are not life-threatening, a police official said.
The attacker has been hospitalised in the past on mental health grounds, the official said, adding that he also had a criminal record and had been arrested previously for possessing a knife.
“We just heard people screaming and a crowd running away, so we obviously took cover,” said Tracey Dewey, a visitor from Cape Town, South Africa.
The rare incident occurred as Greece and its visitors brave the country’s first heatwave of the summer, its main tourism season. REUTERS
