RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan stable after prison stabbing

By Don Thompson The Associated Press

5 years ago

This Oct. 29, 2009 photo from the California Department of Corrections shows Sirhan Sirhan, con ... — This Oct. 29, 2009 photo from the California Department of Corrections shows Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of the murder of presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. (AP Photo/California Dept. of Corrections)

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy lies mortally wounded on the floor of a pantry at the Ambassador Hotel a minute after being shot by Sirhan B.Sirhan June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Boris Yaro)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin was hospitalized in stable condition after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at a Southern California prison.

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says the stabbing of Sirhan Sirhan took place Friday afternoon at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.

A corrections department statement says the wounded inmate was hospitalized in stable condition.

The statement did not name the victim, but a government source with direct knowledge confirmed to The Associated Press that it was Sirhan. The source spoke under condition of anonymity, citing prison privacy regulations.

The stabbing was first reported by TMZ.

Sirhan was convicted of fatally shooting Kennedy immediately after the New York senator declared victory in the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary.

Prison officials say Sirhan’s attacker has been identified.