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Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan stabbed in prison

Sirhan, who was convicted in the 1968 shooting death of the Democratic presidential candidate, is serving a life sentence in a California prison.
Image: Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan.CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation

The man convicted of killing Robert F. Kennedy was injured Friday in a stabbing in a California prison, officials said.

NBC San Diego confirmed the attack on Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, 75, citing law enforcement sources.

A government source with direct knowledge also confirmed to The Associated Press that he was the victim.

"There was an assault on an inmate on Friday, August 30 at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility at 2:21 p.m.," the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

"Officers responded quickly, and found an inmate with stab wound injuries," the department said, adding that the victim was stabilized at a hospital.

A suspect in the stabbing was placed in administrative segregation pending an investigation, corrections officials said.

Thomas Shoots, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, confirmed that a minutes after the reported attack, paramedics rushed to the prison in San Diego County and found a victim bleeding from the neck.

Sirhan shot Kennedy on Jun. 5, 1968, in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where the presidential hopeful was celebrating victory in the California Democratic primary.

Image:
Sen. Robert Kennedy lies semiconscious in his own blood on the floor after being shot, while busboy Juan Romero tries to comfort him on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles.Bill Eppridge / The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Sirhan, a Christian-born Palestinian from Jordan who opposed Kennedy's support for Israel, was convicted in the death and is serving a life sentence.

At least six inmates were injured in a riot a week ago at the prison near the U.S.-Mexico border.