A corrections officer at the maximum-security Florence prison was stabbed in the head Wednesday afternoon by an inmate during a routine cell search, an official said.
The officer, who has been with the Arizona Department of Corrections for 15 years, was taken to a hospital in Maricopa County, and his condition was unknown, said Katie Decker, a department spokeswoman.
The attack — the third of its kind in the last month — occurred at about 4:30 p.m. while the officer was searching the cell for contraband, Decker said. The 24-year-old inmate, who was convicted of manslaughter, managed to attack the guard and stab him with a homemade weapon about half an inch in front of the ear and 3 inches up.
The weapon was lodged in the guard's head, and paramedics were called, Decker said. They bandaged the guard's head with the weapon still in place, and he was flown to a hospital.
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"He was fully conscious and talking but clearly in pain," Decker said. "He's given many years of service, and it's unfortunate to see something like this happen."
The inmate was housed in the central unit, but he now will be moved to the violence-control unit — a restricted concrete cell where he will be held pending the outcome of an investigation, Decker said.
The inmate, whose name will not be released until charges are filed, has been involved in three prior assaults on staff members and has been found in possession of homemade weapons twice since he was put in the prison in 2001.
No other injuries were reported. The name of the guard was not released Wednesday.
Officials were working to determine how the inmate obtained the weapon and how he was able to attack the corrections officer.
