Assassin of Robert F Kennedy attacked in prison

Sirhan Sirhan, imprisoned for more than 50 years for the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy, has been stabbed in prison.

A statement from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the 75-year-old was taken to hospital after being attacked in the prison 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 a government source confirmed the victim of the attack was Senator Kennedy’s killer.

Corrections officials reported that the alleged attacker has been identified and has been segregated from the rest of the prison population pending an investigation.

Sirhan was convicted of shooting Kennedy shortly after midnight on June 5 1968, immediately after the New York senator had declared victory in the previous day’s California Democratic presidential primary.

Mr Kennedy had just finished delivering his victory speech to cheering supporters at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel when he decided to walk through the hotel kitchen.

He had stopped to shake hands with a busboy who had delivered food to his room the day before when he was shot in the head. He died the next day.

Sirhan was originally sentenced to death but, when California briefly outlawed capital punishment, his sentence was reduced to life in prison.

Over the years, Sirhan has claimed to have no recollection of the shooting or his initial confession.

As a high-profile prisoner, Sirhan had once been kept in a protective housing unit at Corcoran State Prison in Northern California.

After he told authorities several years ago that he would prefer being housed with the general prison population, he was moved to the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.