A corrections officer at the Minnesota Department of Corrections-Stillwater in Bayport was killed in an assault at the prison on Wednesday.
A corrections officer at the Minnesota Department of Corrections-Stillwater in Bayport was killed in an assault at the prison on Wednesday.
Officer Joseph Gomm was attacked by an offender at 1:30 p.m., according to a statement released by the Department of Corrections. Gomm was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead.
Gomm had been a 16-year veteran of the department. “Joseph gave the ultimate sacrifice while working to protect the citizens of Minnesota,” said Sarah Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The name of the inmate involved in the attack — serving time for homicide — was not released.
No other details were immediately released.
The state Department of Corrections will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. today to discuss the assault, Fitzgerald said.
The prison houses 1,589 male offenders.
A corrections officer was assaulted earlier this year at the prison .
The nearby Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights was placed on lockdown in June after an inmate attacked a corrections officer, causing serious injuries, officials said then. And in March, assaults by inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights sent 10 employees to the hospital — more injuries than in the previous five years combined.
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