An eyewitness describes the moments that unfolded at the Acropolis ticket booths during the knife attack that took place early Tuesday morning.

“We were in line waiting to go inside. The doors didn’t open for us to enter, and then we heard screams. People scattered everywhere, and we turned around to see what was happening. We saw one person with a knife, and he went to slash a woman,” Connie, a Greek-Australian from Australia, told Orange Press Agency.

As she explains, “Then we saw the woman who was on the ground, and she had blood on her back. We were afraid and moved a little farther away, but then gradually we saw the police, and we came back closer, and we continued on our way.”

Immediately afterward, according to Connie, who was at the scene with her daughter, the Hellenic Police and EKAB (the National Emergency Aid Centre) took over. The tourists who were at the ticket booths were moved away by police officers until it became clear what had happened. Several people also gave statements.

Another man who was standing in the same queue as the Greek-American couple said he saw the injured man bleeding badly.

“We heard screams and saw people running. I saw the woman lying on the ground, children were shouting. At first we thought she had fallen or something like that, but then we heard her say, ‘Where is my husband?’ I looked to the side and saw that police officers were holding a man down and giving first aid to another one. He was bleeding very badly, but I think he will be okay. It was frightening, though,” he said.

It is recalled that the two injured victims—the man more seriously—were taken to the Red Cross Hospital, while the 60-year-old attacker was arrested.

An order had been issued for the attacker’s confinement

The 60-year-old attacker had previously experienced psychological problems, while an order had also been issued for his confinement in institutions.

In June, he was taken to the GNA “Georgios Gennimatas” hospital by officers from the Kypseli police station, where he was kept for treatment.

In 2022, a prosecutor’s order was issued for his confinement, but he was never located. In 2014, he was taken to Dafni psychiatric hospital by officers from the Kypseli police station for treatment.

The timeline of the attack

An alarm was raised on Tuesday morning, July 21, at the southern entrance of the Acropolis archaeological site, opposite the Acropolis Museum and the ticket booths, following a report of a man holding a knife and threatening passing citizens.

A passerby informed the Immediate Action Centre about the incident. During the intervention by police officers, it was established that the man had already attacked, without provocation, a Greek-American couple.

Reports indicate that the woman suffered minor injuries to her legs, while a man who had lost a significant amount of blood is being treated in serious condition at the Red Cross Hospital.

A rapid-response motorcycle and an EKAB ambulance rushed to the scene from the very first moment in order to provide first aid to the injured.

The 60-year-old attacker—with psychological problems—was immobilized shortly afterward and arrested by officers of the Athens Police Directorate.

Reports indicate that the possibly homeless man has a criminal record, as he had only recently, in June, been arrested for verbal abuse in Kypseli, and in 2019 he had been arrested in Syntagma for possession of a knife.