Massachusetts
2 corrections officers stabbed, 3 others injured in assault at Massachusetts prison
The Massachusetts Department of Correction was notified of the assaults at 6:20 p.m.
Inmates at Massachusetts’s only maximum-security prison attacked and stabbed two corrections officers multiple times Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Another three corrections officers were also injured when responding to the inmate assault, which occurred at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster about 50 miles northwest of Boston, the Massachusetts Department of Correction confirmed.
The correction department said it was notified of the assault at 6:20 p.m.
“The facility is secure at this time while an investigation is conducted to determine the facts and circumstances,” said Scott Croteau, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, in a statement USA TODAY.
Five corrections officers transported to hospitals
The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union first shared news Wednesday evening on Facebook, claiming that an officer was stabbed in the back and head.
While Croteau confirmed that all five officers who were injured were taken to hospitals for treatment, the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
The Massachusetts State Police have been notified of the attack, he added.
Corrections union: ‘Do your jobs’
The union, which represents about 4,000 corrections officers and other corrections employees, has been regularly sounding the alarm on dangerous working conditions at prisons across the state.
Earlier this month, the union shared a Boston Herald editorial warning of the dangers of “makeshift knives” in Massachusetts prisons. In another post, the organization argued: “The dangers that currently exist cannot be overstated … We just want to ensure we are given the tools to do our jobs and go home safely to our families.”
Last month, the union told the Boston Herald that dozens of “homemade sharpened weapons” were found inside Souza-Baranowski.
Following Wednesday’s attack, the union took to Facebook to criticize the Department of Correction, claiming it’s been four years since the agency had “authorized the use of tactical units and done a thorough institution wide search.”
“ENOUGH!” the union wrote. “How much more do our members have to endure before you decide to keep them safe? The inmates are literally running the asylum. Do your jobs.”
USA TODAY left a message Thursday morning with the union that was not immediately returned.
The Department of Corrections did not did not immediately respond to USA TODAY regarding the union’s claims.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
Massachusetts
Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties
A dangerousness hearing was held Friday for a Bristol County man after a drug trafficking investigation led to his arrest.
According to Massachusetts State Police, during May and June of this year, members of the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team – South initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking. Intelligence revealed that 33-year-old Jason Hodo of Taunton was distributing trafficking quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Rhode Island and throughout Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Investigators completed extensive traditional and covert surveillance, record checks, and intelligence analysis. The investigation led to warrants being sought and granted to search for all controlled substances at all locations related to Hodo.
In June, executing officers followed Hodo in his vehicle after he departed the Rhode Island location and drove to a Taunton gas station. Hodo was detained, searched, and arrested after amounts of fentanyl and cocaine were located. Members then executed the “knock and announce” search warrants without incident at locations in both states.
The searches in Massachusetts led to the seizure of approximately 528 grams of fentanyl, 206 grams of cocaine, and nearly $22,000 from Hodo’s person and vehicle. Hodo was eventually transported to State Police-Middleboro for booking on charges related to Trafficking Class A and Class B Substances.
A simultaneous search of the Rhode Island location by Rhode Island State Police revealed the following: two firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines, approximately 12 grams of fentanyl, nearly $19,000, several high value bars of gold, jewelry, and a diamond/gold chain with receipt for $103,000.
Previously in Fall River Superior Court, Hodo pled not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
On Friday, also in Fall River Superior Court, dangerousness was taken under advisement with Hodo still held without bail.
His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference in February.
Massachusetts
Mass. State Lottery winner: Lucky store sold 6 winning tickets Friday
It was the final day of the fall, but for one store in Arlington, it was their luckiest day of the year.
On Friday, Dec. 20, Peter Pan Superette in Arlington sold six winning Keno tickets, each worth $9,600.
While over the course of the year the store has at times sold two winners in one day, Friday was the only time in 2024 the total grew to six.
Overall, at least 565 worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Friday, including six in Springfield, 29 in Worcester and 42 in Boston.
The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.
So far, the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts this year was worth $1 million a year for life.
The prize was from the lottery’s “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket game. The winner claimed their prize through a trust on July 10, and opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million.
Massachusetts
How much snow in Massachusetts? Here are the storm totals for December 20
BOSTON – More than five inches of snow fell in several towns in eastern Massachusetts on Friday. Boston picked up 4.4″ of snow, one of the biggest snowfalls in almost three years.
Here are the latest snow totals from the National Weather Service, Rob Macedo, the SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service in Taunton, and WBZ-TV Weather Watchers.
Norwood 6.0 inches
Dedham 6.0
Walpole 5.5
Needham 5.5
Danvers 5.3
Topsfield 5.0
Cambridge 4.9
Newton 4.5
Boston 4.4
Randolph 4.0
Foxboro 4.0
Milford 3.2
Rehoboth 3.2
Millville 3.0
North Attleboro 2.0
West Yarmouth 2.0
Worcester 1.0
-
Politics1 week ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Politics1 week ago
Conservative group debuts major ad buy in key senators' states as 'soft appeal' for Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel
-
Business6 days ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology6 days ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age