Stillwater prison remains on lockdown following weekend attack on two correctional officers

Both were treated for their injuries and released.

February 21, 2022 at 11:41PM
The Minnesota state prison at Stillwater remained on lockdown Monday, Feb. 21, after an inmate assaulted and injured two corrections officers during a weekend cell search. (Leila Navidi, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Minnesota state prison at Stillwater remained on lockdown Monday after an inmate assaulted and injured two corrections officers during a weekend cell search.

According to Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sarah Fitzgerald, the officers were attacked during a routine search at 4:40 p.m. Saturday. One officer was treated and released from Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater, while another "more significantly injured" officer was treated and released at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The assault will be referred to the Washington County Attorney's Office for consideration of charges.

The inmate responsible for the assault was moved to the Maximum Security Administrative Control Unit at the Oak Park Heights prison, while the Stillwater facility remains on lockdown "until more information can be obtained, and we can evaluate how this incident connects to an assault at the end of January, and any other issues in the facility," Fitzgerald said. Late last month, two correctional officers were injured under similar circumstances.

In 2018, a Stillwater prisoner attacked and killed correctional officer Joseph Gomm in the prison's industrial building, which resulted in calls from correctional officers for increased safety measures, such as additional cameras and staffing.

Edward Muhammad Johnson, who was already incarcerated for murder, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for killing Gomm, 45, the first such death of an on-duty Minnesota corrections officer.

about the writer

about the writer

Abby Simons

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Abby Simons is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Public Safety Editor. Her team covers crime and courts across the metro. She joined the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2008 and previously reported on crime, courts and politics.

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