SHIRLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - Two correction officers were stabbed and three other officers were injured Wednesday in an incident at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, officials said.
The incident happened late Wednesday afternoon. In a statement Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said all five injured officers were taken to area hospitals.
Spokesperson Scott Croteau said the state Department of Correction received a report of multiple injured officers at 6:20 p.m. The two officers who were stabbed were assaulted by inmates. The three other officers were injured while responding.
Several ambulances were seen leaving the area around the prison Wednesday evening, with some heading to UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster.
Croteau said Souza-Baranowski was secure as of around 9:30 p.m. while authorities investigated the incident.
A representative of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union said one of the injured officers suffered serious injuries after being stabbed in the head and the neck. Information on the extent of other injuries in the incident was not immediately available.
Speaking outside the prison Wednesday, union president Dennis Martin was upset about the attack.
Martin said the incident was preventable, adding that union representatives had been trying to sound the alarm after a series of other attacks, including a similar incident in 2023.
“This wasn’t a random act,” Martin said. “This was an attempted murder on a correction officer. That’s what we’re upset about. That’s what we’re furious about.”
“This is unacceptable,” Martin continued. “Things have to change. These people have to be held accountable for this.”
Souza-Baranowski is a maximum security state prison.
In addition to mounted security cameras, investigators are expected to review body worn cameras from correction officers as they examine what happened in this incident.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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