A correctional officer was assaulted Thursday at Pasquotank Correctional Institution, the site of an attempted jailbreak last fall that killed four prison workers.
A spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety said no weapons were involved in Thursday's attack, and the unidentified officer was being treated at an urgent care clinic for non-life-threatening injuries.
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Two top administrators at Pasquotank Correctional were suspended in January after a scathing review of prison operations by the National Institute of Corrections, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The report determined that the prison was so understaffed that workers routinely cut corners, creating an opportunity for the Oct. 12 escape attempt.
Inmates leaving the sewing plant, where the October attack started, were supposed to pass through a metal detector and be stripped searched, but the body inspections took place only about 20 percent of the time, the report said. The agency noted that hacksaw blades, scissors and hammers were given out by an inmate to other prisoners and that prison workers failed to keep track of tools, metal shards and hazardous chemicals. Other problems found: Doors were left unlocked, and inmates were allowed to create hiding places outside the view of security cameras.
DPS officials have permanently closed the sewing plant and have barred inmates convicted of violent crimes from working in prison operations where they would have access to tools. Prisons statewide also have toughened the penalties for inmates who violate rules.
Two correctional officers, a vocational instructor and a maintenance worker were killed in the October attack. Four inmates have been charged with murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.