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Big Stone Gap, Va. – Five corrections officers were injured Friday in an attack at Wallens Ridge State Prison. Authorities say most of the six inmates involved are MS-13 gang members who entered the U.S. illegally.
Three officers were stabbed and transported for medical care, along with two others who sustained injuries. All six inmates involved had previously been convicted of violent crimes, including murder and rape.
Five are confirmed MS-13 gang members from El Salvador and were in the country illegally, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. The sixth inmate is a U.S. citizen with ties to another gang.
“Five of the individuals responsible for this senseless attack should never have been in this country in the first place,” said Virginia Department of Corrections Director Chad Dotson. “Every single day, our officers put their lives on the line… This attack exemplifies the dangers they face.”
Three of the injured officers were treated and released the same day. The other two were hospitalized in stable condition. The incident remains under investigation, and further details have not been released.