(JTA) — The man serving a life sentence in France for the brutal murder of a Parisian Jew attacked a prison guard with a sharp object.

Youssouf Fofana used a sharpened toothbrush to attack a guard accompanying him to a public phone booth earlier this week at the Conde-sur-Sarthe prison, 155 miles from Paris, according to Le Parisien. The report did not say whether the guard was wounded or how badly.

Fofana was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for his role in the murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish phone salesman.

A gang of at least 16 people led by Fofana abducted Halimi and tortured and starved him for 24 days while they negotiated with his family to obtain ransom. Fofana assured his gang that they would be paid because Halimi was Jewish.

Halimi was found naked and handcuffed in a Paris suburb on Fab. 13, 2006. He had burns on 80 percent of his body and he died on his way to hospital.