A correctional officer and a nurse have died after a prisoner attacked several staff members and other inmates at the Anamosa State Penitentiary in Iowa.
The attack took place on Tuesday morning in the prison hospital. The inmate was restrained by extra security personnel while other employees of the facility “tried to do life-saving first aid on the injured until paramedics arrived,” the Iowa Department of Corrections said in a statement.
A correctional nurse and correctional officer have died from their injuries, the statement said.
The names of the deceased are first announced before the next of kin are notified. The identity of the prisoner has not yet been revealed.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds pledged justice to the victims’ generation, calling the incident a “tragic and horrific murder.”
“Today, our state is saddened by the loss of two government officials who were attacked while on duty at the Anamosa State Penitentiary,” Reynolds said in a statement. “My prayers and deepest sympathy are with their families, friends and colleagues as they face this senseless tragedy.”
Reynolds also said she would order that all flags in the state be waved with half-staff to honor and remember the two victims.
Danny Homan, president of the union representing employees of correctional facilities in Iowa, said, “No one ever has to go to work and worry about whether or not they go home.”
“Unfortunately, two Iowanes who have committed their lives to keeping our communities safe are not going home tonight,” Homan said.
The Anamosa State Penitentiary website states that it is a maximum to medium security facility that houses about 950 offenders, with about 321 staff.
The incident is being investigated by both the Iowa Department of Corrections and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation within the Iowa Department of Public Safety.