WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state spokeswoman says a state penitentiary inmate attacked a corrections officer with a sharpened toothbrush, causing superficial neck wounds.
Spokeswoman Shari Hall says the attack happened Monday morning in the common area of the Delta Unit, one of four close-custody living units housing high-risk offenders at the Walla Walla prison. She says the prisoner acted as if he were on his way to the shower.
Hall says Delta Unit’s 187 inmates will be on lockdown for at least 24 hours but the rest of the prison is operating normally.
The officer was treated at a local hospital and later returned to work.
The inmate has been at Walla Walla since last October after being convicted of rape and robbery. Prison staff and local law enforcement are investigating.
