A Department of Corrections officer was stabbed 15 times in the back of the head Monday by an inmate at Rikers Island, officials say.
“This was an unprovoked heinous and callous attack on one of our dedicated officers, who was simply doing their job,” CBS quoted Department of Corrections Commissioner Louis Molina. “We will not tolerate any assaults on our members of service who show up to work each day to keep our jails safe.”
The incident reportedly took place at the prison’s Anna M. Cross Center in a protective custody unit. Molina confirmed re-arrest of the individual responsible for the attack, CBS reported.
The suspect, Dennis Fredricks, was charged earlier in 2022 after he shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend in 2021, according to CBS. The injured corrections officer is in stable condition after being brought to a nearby hospital, according to DOC officials.
New York city leaders proposed a plan in September to end solitary confinement in city prisons, including Rikers Island, according to CBS News. Sixteen inmates had died at the jail as of Sept. 28, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Rikers Island Inmates Partying, Brawling, Fatally Overdosing Amid Staffing Crisis: REPORT)
A general view shows the Rikers Island facility on June 6, 2022. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
“What do we do with the inmates that continue to cut, stab, slash, sexually assault and brutally assault our officers and other inmates?” Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association member Benny Boscio argued at the time. “Nobody’s been able to answer that question.”
After Monday’s unprovoked attack, Boscio again criticized the city council’s efforts to ban solitary confinement. “This heinous attack demonstrates exactly why the public advocate and City Council must immediately pull the bill to end punitive segregation before one of us gets killed,” CBS quoted.