A French visitor was injured by a man with a cutting knife Saturday morning on Qianmen Street in downtown Beijing, police said.

Dou Mingxiang, 41, from Nanchang City, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, allegedly injured the elderly woman at about 11:25 a.m. at Dashilan, a major commercial center near the Qianmen Gate, police said.

Patrolling policemen caught Dou on the spot. The woman suffered only slight injury and was rushed to hospital.

Police were investigating the case.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2009)