SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted for assassinating Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, was stabbed Friday in a South San Diego County prison.
A statement from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the stabbing occurred Friday afternoon at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.
"Officers responded quickly, and found an inmate with stab wound injuries. He was transported to an outside hospital for medical care, and is currently in stable condition," the statement said.
The statement did not name Sirhan, but TMZ first reported that Sirhan was stabbed and taken to a hospital outside the prison for care. The Associated Press, citing a government source, confirmed that Sirhan was the victim.
Cal Fire confirmed to 10News a person stabbed Friday afternoon at the prison was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital.
"The suspect in the attack has been identified, and has placed in the prison’s Administrative Segregation Unit, pending an investigation," a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation official said in a statement.
Sirhan was convicted in the shooting death of Kennedy during a presidential campaign rally in Los Angeles. He was immediately tackled by witnesses. Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder in 1969 and initially sentenced to death. The sentenced was commuted to life in prison in 1972 when the California Supreme Court found that the death penalty constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the state constitution, according to the CDCR.
Sirhan has had 15 parole hearings and subsequent denials since he was incarcerated. He has claimed he does not remember shooting Kennedy, the Associated Press reported in 2016.
At least five inmates were injured during a riot at Donovan prison one week ago. The fight broke out in the prison yard among inmates, some of whom used handmade weapons. The five injured men were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
The CDCR reported 4,093 prisoners living at Donovan prison as of Aug. 28. The facility was designed to house 2,992 inmates, putting it at 136.8 percent of its capacity, according to the report.
