Two corrections officers were stabbed by inmates and three others were injured during an attack at a Massachusetts prison, prompting a union to declare that “inmates are literally running the asylum.”
The Massachusetts Department of Corrections announced Thursday that the assault at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, a town north of Worcester, occurred around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday night.
“Two correctional officers were assaulted by incarcerated individuals and sustained multiple stab wounds. Three other correctional officers were injured while responding to the incident,” it said in a statement, adding that one of the victims remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“The Department has initiated a thorough investigation to determine the facts and circumstances and is also conducting a full security assessment,” it said. “The incarcerated men identified as being involved in this incident have been transferred to other DOC facilities.”
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A police officer stands guard at the entrance to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in April 2017. A stabbing was reported at the facility on Wednesday, Sept. 18. (AP/Elise Amendola)
Shawn Jenkins, the agency's acting commissioner, said: “My thoughts are with the officers and their families at this time and the Department offers our full support to the officers as they recover from their injuries.
“Violence against DOC personnel is unacceptable and we will take the necessary steps to ensure that those responsible are held accountable under the law,” he added.
However, the Massachusetts Correctional Officers' Union tagged the DOC in a Facebook post saying, “It's been 4 years since they authorized the use of the tactical units and conducted a thorough search of the entire institution!”
“How much more do our members have to endure before they are protected? The inmates are literally running the asylum. Do your job,” the message read.
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A prison vehicle drives past the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in April 2017. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Dennis Martin, the union's president, later told reporters at a news conference Thursday that the incident “was an attempted murder of a correctional officer at the facility.”
“This is not Hollywood, this is real, this is in here… this happens every day in these institutions,” he continued.
Martin said the attack “appeared to be coordinated” because “someone was stabbed 12 times, not just to send a warning, but to kill someone.”
Members of the media gather at the main entrance of the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in April 2017, where former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his cell. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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He also said inmates in Massachusetts have been making weapons from a strip of metal found inside tablets that are given to prisoners and then broken open.
Fox News' Andrew Fone contributed to this report.
