Guard killed, another injured in stabbing attack at Indiana prison

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) –

An Indiana inmate convicted of a triple murder in 2002 fatally stabbed a corrections officer and seriously injured another at the maximum security prison where he is serving a 130-year sentence, authorities said Monday.

The injured Indiana State Prison officers were transported Sunday to a Michigan City hospital, where one was pronounced dead and the second was listed in stable condition after being transferred at a South Bend hospital, authorities said.

The Indiana Department of Corrections identified the slain officer as Lt. Eugene Lasco, 57, of LaPorte County, and the injured officer as Sgt. Padrick Schmitt, 22, of Lake Station.

Schmitt was stabbed multiple times by an inmate and when Lasco went to help Schmitt, the inmate stabbed him as well, the DOC said.

Inmate Tymetri Campbell, 38, faces several preliminary charges, including murder, for allegedly attacking officers Sunday afternoon in a common area of ​​the Michigan City jail, said State Police Sgt. State of Indiana. » said Ted Bohner on Monday.

Bohner said he did not know what type of weapon was used in the stabbing and that no additional details, including a possible motive, would be immediately released about the attack, which police State is still investigating.

The Indiana Department of Corrections released a statement on Facebook saying “our thoughts and prayers are with our staff and their families.”

Indiana State Prison is a maximum security prison with approximately 2,300 inmates and is home to Indiana's death row, according to the DOC website. It is located approximately 35 miles west of South Bend in Michigan City, a city along the shores of Lake Michigan, Indiana.

Campbell is serving a 130-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to three murders in the 2002 shooting, WISH-TV reported. In a 2007 appeal, he apologized for “being present” at the time of the deaths, but said he had not killed anyone.