Violence erupted at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster on Wednesday, leaving two corrections officers with stab wounds and three others with injuries.
All five corrections officers were treated at hospitals, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections said in a statement.
Two officers were stabbed by incarcerated individuals at the maximum security prison, while three others were injured in the response to the violence, according to the statement. It was not immediately clear how seriously the officers were injured.
The stabbings were reported around 6:20 p.m. Officials secured the prison in the wake of the assault to “determine the facts and circumstances,” according to the statement.
Massachusetts State Police were notified of the assault.
The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union criticized the Department of Corrections in a Facebook post following the assault.
“ENOUGH! It’s been 4 years since you authorized the use of the tactical units and done a thorough institution-wide search! How much more do our members have to endure before you decide to keep them safe?” the post reads. “The inmates are literally running the asylum. Do your jobs.”
