Soldier Stabbed in Paris Days Before Olympics

French-Congolese attacker was previously in psychiatric care after stabbing a man to death in 2018.

A French soldier has been stabbed outside of one of Paris’s main train stations less than two weeks before the start of the Olympics.

The stabbing occurred outside Gare de l’Est, one of the busiest stations in France, on Monday. The attacker has been arrested and taken into psychiatric care.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the soldier’s life was not in danger, while AFP quoted a police source who said he had suffered a knife wound “between the shoulder blades.”

The 40-year-old suspect, a French citizen born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was quickly arrested by other soldiers on the scene at Gare de l’Est after the late Monday attack.

He had previously been confined to psychiatric care after knifing a 22-year-old man to death in 2018 at another major Paris interchange.

A court at the time said he was too ill to be held responsible for his actions, with an evaluation finding he likely suffered from schizophrenia.

He also has two past convictions for domestic violence.

The injured soldier was under observation in hospital after the attack but was not in a serious condition, army spokesman Guillaume Vernet told AFP on Tuesday.

The soldier was part of France’s ’Operation Sentinelle,’ in which squads of troops patrol sensitive sites around the country to protect against potential terrorist attacks.

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