Man attacks two tourists with knife near ancient Acropolis site in Greece

July 21, 2026 8:23 AM EDT

Tourists wait in line to enter the Acropolis archaeological site near the location where two American tourists were stabbed in Athens, Greece, July 21, 2026. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi

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)



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