2 California prison officers hurt in alleged attack by inmate

FOLSOM, Calif. — Two California corrections officers were hospitalized after an alleged assault by an incarcerated man, and authorities are investigating an attempted homicide, officials said Sunday.

The incident occurred Saturday at California State Prison in Sacramento as the suspect was being escorted from his cell to allow staff to conduct a search, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Staff used physical force and chemical agents to quickly suppress the attack, and an improvised weapon was found at the scene,” the prison service said in a statement.

The police officers were transported in fair conditions, the statement said.

The suspect, 48, was placed in restricted housing during the investigation, authorities said. He arrived there in 2011 to serve a 17-year prison sentence for charges of corporal injury to a spouse. In 2022, he was sentenced to an additional four years for possession/manufacture of a deadly weapon.

The case will be referred to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal prosecution.

The prison located northeast of the state capital houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated people.