Two Muslim Women Stabbed Near Eiffel Tower In Suspected Race Attack, Suspects In Custody

Two Muslim women were stabbed near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday night. Two white women were taken into police custody in connection with the incident.

The victims, identified only as Kenza and Amel, were at the Champ-de-Mars Park near the Eiffel Tower, along with their four children, when they got into a verbal altercation with two white women over an unleashed dog, French daily Le Parisien reported. They reportedly asked the other two women to keep the dog away from their children. Instead, one of the white women allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed them.

Photos posted on social media showed emergency crews tending to the victims who were lying on the ground.

Kenza, who was stabbed at least six times, was admitted to a local hospital with a punctured lung, while Amel underwent surgery for the stab wounds she suffered to her hands.

One of the victims was reportedly wearing a veil. Local reports said the suspects allegedly shouted "dirty Arabs" and "go back to your country" during the attack and tore off the victim's veil.

The attackers were taken into custody and were being held on suspicion of attempted murder, Metro reported, citing Paris city prosecutors.

The incident is under investigation. Prosecutors say it is too early to classify the attack as a hate crime.

The latest attack follows the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, last week in a Parisian suburb by an Islamist extremist student for allegedly discussing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad with his class. The incident prompted the government to launch a crackdown on mosques and Muslim organizations amid rising tensions. Millions of Muslims living in Paris have complained of increased Islamophobia caused by the government clampdown. The country paid homage to Paty on Wednesday.