A Massachusetts correctional officer was attacked by an inmate with a homemade weapon on Monday in an incident that sent him and another officer to the hospital, officials said.
The assault at Lancaster's Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center was serious and Worcester County prosecutors were being notified, the Massachusetts Department of Correction told NBC10 Boston Tuesday. Both officers were released from the hospital hours later; the agency didn't say how badly they were hurt.
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The officer who was attacked was repeatedly stabbed in the head and the back with a makeshift knife, according to the state's correctional union. Citing the incident, Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union officials urged the Legislature to increase protections for their members.
Lawmakers have "focused entirely on inmate reforms and entitlements with zero emphasis on Correction Officer safety, and this must change before an officer is killed," union President Dennis Martin said in the statement.
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The incident began with a fight among three inmates about 6 p.m. at the maximum-security prison, state officials said. As officers descended on the scene, one inmate, who wasn't identified, allegedly hit an officer several times with their makeshift weapon.
Other staff were able to subdue the inmate and recover the weapon and get the wounded officer to a hospital, as well as another officer, whose injuries weren't described. Officials said the inmates involved were removed from their general population unit; they didn't share more information.
