PARIS — A French soldier was hospitalized after having been stabbed Monday on patrol outside a major train station in Paris. At least one suspect has been arrested, officials in Paris said, as the city prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The as-yet-unidentified soldier was hospitalized with a shoulder blade injury but was not in life-threatening condition, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on X that the soldier had been patrolling at the Gare de l’Est train station in eastern Paris when the attack unfolded. He added that the soldier was on patrol as part of Operation Sentinel, an ongoing French military operation launched in the wake of the 2015 Paris attacks.
The suspect, a man born in the Republic of Congo, cried out "God is great" as he attacked the soldier, a police source familiar with the investigation told NBC News. Other military members patrolling the area quickly apprehended him, the source said.
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was known to police as having a psychiatric disorder and was previously involved in a murder case, the source added.
The investigation is still underway, but authorities said they did not suspect terrorism, the national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said.
Paris is expected to deploy 30,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, which will run from July 26 to Aug. 11, according to the AP. At least 45,000 officers are expected to be deployed for the opening ceremony on the Seine river, however, while 18,000 military members are also expected to assist with security during the Games, it reported.
France has been on high alert after it raised its national security alert system to its highest level after a deadly attack this year at a concert hall in Moscow, which was claimed by the Islamic state terrorist group.
Nancy Ing reported from Paris and Chantal Da Silva from London.
