Influential Boston educator and civil rights icon Jean McGuire, 91, was stabbed several times Tuesday night while walking her dog in a park. McGuire is in stable condition in the hospital and is expected to recover.

McGuire, the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee and a former director of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), reportedly fought off the attacker who had stabbed her multiple times in Franklin Park, according to the Boston Police Department.

McGuire was found unconscious by police at 8:30 p.m. ET and taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

There have been no arrests. The attack was considered random.

Police are asking for help in apprehending the attacker.

In 1981, McGuire became the first Black woman to be elected to the Boston School Committee, and after she co-founded METCO, which fought for school integration, in 1966.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference that she was "disgusted and angry," about the attack on McGuire and called McGuire an "inspiration."

In a statement, METCO President Milly Arbaje-Thomas called McGuire a "living legend."

"[McGuire] never wavered in her commitment to providing generations of children with mentorship, encouragement, and pride," Arbaje-Thomas said.

McGuire was found by people leaving the Franklin Park Zoo's Boston Lights: a Lantern Experience.

Her family said she is recovering and comfortable but has not released additional information about her condition.

McGuire's stabbing comes on the heels of additional violence in the city.

On Monday, 14-year-old Rasante Osorio was shot and killed in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Police say Osorio's death was an isolated incident and is under investigation.

Civil rights