Paris Olympics marred by attack on French soldier days out from opening ceremony

A French soldier was stabbed while on patrol outside the Gare de l’Est train station in eastern Paris on Monday, days before the 2024 Summer Olympics are set to begin with the opening ceremony next week. 

The soldier was hospitalized with a shoulder injury but was not considered to be in life-threatening condition, officials said on Monday. 

A statement from the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday identified the attacker as 40-year-old Christian Ingondo.

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In 2018, Ingondo was under judicial investigation on murder charges, the prosecutor's statement said. In 2020, the investigating judges dropped charges against him and ordered mandatory hospitalization.

Investigations into the attempted murder and the suspect’s background are ongoing. Ingondo, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was released from custody Tuesday morning and transferred to a psychiatric hospital under police supervision, the statement continued.

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Following the string of Islamic State extremist attacks in 2015 that killed at least 130 people and injured at least 350 more, Paris created Operation Sentinelle for France’s domestic security. The Sentinelle force is designed to guard prominent sites and events such as the Olympics.

There are an estimated 10,000 soldiers and 4,700 police that make up Operation Sentinelle. The group's soldiers have been targeted by terrorists in the past. 

Paris has been on high security alert for the Olympic Games that begin on July 26 and end on Aug. 11.

The city is expected to deploy around 30,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, with a peak being about 45,000 officers for the opening ceremony on the Seine River.

The French military is sending about 18,000 personnel to Paris to ensure security. Many of them are staying in a camp set up outside Paris for the duration of the Olympic Games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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