Man Stabs and Wounds Two Tourists Near the Acropolis in Athens

A man stabbed and wounded two American tourists Tuesday morning near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece's top tourist attraction, in what police described as an apparently random attack.

The assailant, identified only as a 60-year-old Greek man, attacked a Greek American couple with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the archaeological site and the Acropolis Museum, which sits at the foot of the Acropolis hill. The attack occurred shortly after 8 a.m. local time, just as the site opened for the day, a popular time for visitors hoping to avoid the intense midday heat on the hill's exposed terrain.

The Victims

The 53-year-old male victim suffered a serious wound to his arm that required a tourniquet to be applied at the scene, while the 48-year-old woman sustained lighter injuries to her leg, according to police. Both were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, and neither injury was reported to be life-threatening.

What Police Know So Far

The motivation behind the attack was not immediately clear, though police said the assailant appeared to have been suffering from psychological problems. Greek media reported that the man had allegedly been randomly threatening passersby with a knife before the stabbing, and that a member of the public alerted police. The attacker was detained at the scene.

The incident did not lead to any closure of the archaeological site, which continued operating as usual throughout the day.

A Rare Kind of Attack for Greece

Violent street attacks of this kind remain uncommon in Greece. In April, authorities arrested an 89-year-old man who allegedly opened fire with a shotgun inside a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least four people in an incident reportedly tied to grievances over his social security benefits.

The Acropolis hill, home to the nearly 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and several other ancient monuments, draws millions of visitors each year; roughly 4.6 million people visited the site last year alone. Tuesday's attack also came as Greece experienced its first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Athens and up to 105 degrees in parts of the country.

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