Prison staff are looking into an Atwater inmate's attempt to stab a staffer
.JPG "The United States Penitentiary in Atwater sign from an undated photo.")
U.S. Penitentiary Awater staff were able to prevent a staff member from being stabbed by an inmate this week, officials said on Wednesday.
An inmate, who was not identified, with a "sharpened homemade weapon" tried to assault a staff member about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday inside the prison, according to a news release.
Prison staff responded to the scene and secured the area without any injuries to staff or inmates, according to the news release. Inmates were ordered back to their housing units and the facility was placed on "a limited operational status."
Officials said an internal investigation is in progress, and the facility will be returned to its normal status as soon as possible. "At no time was the public in danger," the release said.
The attempted assault is the second item of news to come out of the prison this week. On Tuesday, jail officials announced that Thomas Douglas Smith, 41, was pronounced dead a day after being found unresponsive in his cell.
USP Atwater is a high-security level facility that houses 1,192 men.
This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Prison staff are looking into an Atwater inmate's attempt to stab a staffer."