Following an attack at a Massachusetts prison in which two corrections officers were stabbed and three others injured by an inmate, a labor union has declared that “the inmates are literally running the prison.”
The Massachusetts Department of Corrections said Thursday that the attack at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, a town north of Worcester, happened around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday night.
“Two corrections officers were assaulted by inmates and suffered multiple stab wounds. Three further corrections officers were injured while responding to the incident,” it said in a statement, adding that one of the victims remained in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“The department has launched a comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances and is also conducting a thorough security assessment,” the department said. “The incarcerated men identified as involved in this incident have been transferred to other DOC facilities.”
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Police officers stand guard at the entrance to the Souza-Baranovsky Correctional Center in April 2017. A stabbing was reported at the facility on Wednesday, September 18. (AP/Elise Amendola)
“My thoughts are with the officer and his family at this time, and the department will provide the officer our full support as he recovers from his injuries,” said the department's interim chief, Shawn Jenkins.
“Violence against DOC officers is unacceptable and we will take the necessary steps to ensure those responsible are held accountable to the law,” he added.
But the Massachusetts Corrections Officers Union said DOC According to a Facebook post: “It's been four years since we authorized the use of tactical units and conducted a thorough search of our entire organization!”
“How much longer do our people have to endure before you decide to keep them safe? Prisoners are literally running the psychiatric hospital. Do your job,” the post read.
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In April 2017, a prison vehicle passes by the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Dennis Martin, president of the union, told reporters at a press conference Thursday that the incident was “an attempted murder of a corrections officer at the facility.”
“This is not Hollywood. This is reality. This kind of thing happens every day in this facility,” he continued.
Mr Martin said the attack “appears to have been planned”, adding: “When someone is stabbed 12 times it's not just a warning, it's an attempt to kill someone.”
In April 2017, reporters gathered at the front entrance of the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, where former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez had been found dead in his cell. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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He also said that inmates in Massachusetts were destroying tablets by fashioning them into weapons using metal shards that had been placed inside the tablets.
Fox News' Andrew Fong contributed to this report.
