Guard killed, another wounded in stabbing at Indiana prison
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. Feb 24 2021
An Indiana inmate convicted of a 2002 triple murder fatally stabbed one corrections officer and seriously injured another at the maximum-security prison where he’s serving a 130-year sentence, authorities said Monday.
The wounded Indiana State Prison officers were transported Sunday to a hospital in Michigan City, where one was pronounced dead and the second was listed in stable condition after being transferred to a South Bend hospital, authorities said.
The Indiana Department of Correction 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, too, the DOC said.
Inmate Tymetri Campbell, 38, faces several preliminary charges, including murder, for allegedly attacking the officers Sunday afternoon in a common area at the prison in Michigan City, Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner said 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 on the attack, which state police are still investigating.
The Indiana Department of Correction posted a statement on Facebook saying that, “Our thoughts and prayers are with our staff and their families.”
The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security prison with about 2,300 inmates that is home to Indiana’s death row, according to the DOC’s website. It’s located about 34 miles (55 kilometers) west of South Bend in Michigan City, a city along Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline.
Campbell is serving a 130-year sentence after pleading guilty to three murders in the 2002 shooting, WISH-TV reported. In a 2007 appeal, he apologized for “being there” at the time of the deaths but said he didn’t kill anyone.
