Tunisia Says Attacker Fatally Stabbed Police Officer at Brazilian Embassy; Suspect Arrested

Police officers stand guard outside the Brazil embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, Monday, June 19, 2023. The Tunisian government says a security agent guarding the Brazilian Embassy in Tunisia has been stabbed in the heart and is hospitalized in critical condition. The Interior Ministry says a suspect was shot in the leg by police and arrested. The reason for the attack is unclear. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A police officer guarding the Brazilian Embassy in Tunisia was fatally stabbed Monday in an unexplained attack, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said. The suspected assailant was arrested.

The suspect was shot in the leg by police during the arrest and was hospitalized, the ministry said in a statement. It said the officer, who was providing security outside the embassy, was stabbed after he asked the suspect why he was there.

The area, in a residential zone of the capital, Tunis, was cordoned off by police.

Ministry spokesperson Faker Bouzghaya said the officer was wounded in the heart and hospitalized in critical condition, and died of his injuries later in the day.

Bouzghaya said the suspect’s son told investigators that his father is a 53-year-old teacher who had suffered psychiatric troubles and had not been home for two days.

The spokesperson said the suspect was not known to Tunisian security services and that the attack did not appear to have terrorist motives. Tunisia has experienced some terrorist and other attacks in recent years.