POLKTON — Four guards injured in a prison attack on Thursday were released from the hospital by Friday afternoon, according to Keith Acree, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

Acree said Thursday that two staff members, a lieutenant and a sergeant, were stabbed by inmates around 2 p.m. at Lanesboro Correctional Institution.

WSOC-TV reported that officials said the two were airlifted to area hospitals, one with “very serious, life-threatening injuries.”

Two other correctional officers were reportedly assaulted with a broom handle and initially treated by prison medical staff, but wound up being taken to a hospital.

They were released late Thursday night, but the two who were stabbed remained in the hospital for observation, Acree said.

Three inmates believed to be involved in the assault were identified and were being questioned.

Acree said Friday that the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation had taken over the case.

He also said that the alleged attack happened in the close security portion of the prison. The entire prison was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon, with the medium and minimum security units operating normally later that night.

Friday afternoon, Acree said the close security area was still on lockdown and would remain so until graduallly tapering off over the weekend.

No charges had been filed, nor had the names of the inmates suspected in the assault or those of the injured guards been released.

Acree said it was not a practice of the department to release the names of employees, citing privacy concerns. He added that he doubts their names will be released.

However, that information should be available on warrants once charges are filed.

Lanesboro is a multi-custody prison housing approximately 1,850 inmates according to the DPS website. The facility opened in January of 2004 and recently merged with neighboring Brown Creek Correctional Institution.

The prison also has 128 segregation cells and eight health care beds.

Correction Enterprises operates a metal products plant, which employs minimum security inmates who produces a variety of stainless steel kitchen equipment and other metal goods; as well as a packaging operation staffed by close and medium security inmates.

Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.

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By William R. Toler

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