VARNER — Arkansas prison officials say a correctional officer suffered minor injuries when he was assaulted by an inmate with a weapon during the New Year’s weekend.
Prison spokesman Solomon Graves said that the guard was assaulted Sunday afternoon while escorting a prisoner to a shower area with other guards. The guard who was injured did not need to be hospitalized, but the inmate involved was taken to a hospital after being restrained by other guards. The prisoner returned to the prison the same day.
Graves did not identify the inmate. The Arkansas prison system has seen an uptick in prison violence since last summer, amid a shortage of guards. A September assault sent two corrections officers to a hospital. Four inmates were charged in that case last month.