ATHENS, July 21 (Reuters) – A 60-year-old man attacked two Greek-American tourists with a knife on Tuesday 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.
(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis and Deborah Kyvrikosaios; writing by Renee MaltezouEditing by Gareth Jones)
