A corrections officer was assaulted and four other prison guards were hospitalized following an incident Tuesday morning at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.
The prison was locked down and remains so as a result of the incident, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.
Authorities said an inmate assaulted a corrections officer at 8:15 a.m. in the G1 general population unit. That officer radioed for help and the area was secured, according to the spokesman's statement.
After the incident, three other inmates who authorities say were involved were removed from the unit.
Four responding correction officers were taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is a maximum-security prison with about 1,000 inmates. It is the newest state correctional facility in Massachusetts, having opened in 1998.
Other incidents have taken place at the prison.
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In August 2018, six officers were injured and the prison was put on lockdown after an assault that was caught on surveillance video released by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The video showed an inmate approach the officer station and then attack the officers before other inmates join the assault in the K2 Housing Unit.
Those inmates were eventually indicted on assault and battery charges.
Another riot broke out at the facility in January 2017 after dozens of inmates in the P-1 housing unit refused to return to their cells after an alleged fight between two suspected gang members. The riot resulted in the destruction of the entire housing unit.
On April 19, 2017, former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez died by suicide in his cell at the prison.
The incident is under investigation by the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.
