By Tristan Smith
masslive.com
LANCASTER, Mass. — A correctional officer who tried to break up a fight between inmates at a Massachusetts maximum security prison was stabbed multiple times in the head and back Monday night, the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU) told WCVB.
In a statement sent to the news station, correctional officers attempted to interrupt a brawl between multiple inmates at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster on Monday at around 6 p.m.
MCOFU did not immediately respond to a MassLive request for comment.
The inmates broke away from the brawl and began fighting officers. Officials said one inmate pulled out a makeshift knife and stabbed an officer in the head and back several times, WCVB reported.
The officer tackled the inmate to the ground and was stabbed again in the face and head, officials said. Correctional officers took control of the situation and subdued the inmates.
Officials told the news station that several correctional officers were injured in the fight. Two officers, including the one who was stabbed, were taken to a hospital for treatment. None of the injuries were reported to be life-threatening.
“Luckily, due to the quick response and training, the officers were spared life-threatening injuries,” the MCOFU wrote in a statement sent to Boston25News.
MCOFU Legislative Lobbyist Guy W. Glodis told the station that the attack was a part of “an epidemic of violent assaults against officers within Massachusetts Correctional facilities.”
Inmates at the Bristol County House of Corrections protested in April, the situation caused around $200,000 in damages. However, no injuries were reported to inmates or correctional staff.
Names of inmates and officers involved in the fight have not been released.
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