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UPDATE: Corrections Officer Slashed By Convicted Killer

JACKSON TOWNSHIP — State officials said a corrections officer at the state prison near Dallas has been released from the hospital, after he was slashed in the f...

JACKSON TOWNSHIP — State officials said a corrections officer at the state prison near Dallas has been released from the hospital, after he was slashed in the face by an inmate in Luzerne County.

Emergency dispatchers said the call came in of a stabbing at the State Correctional Institution near Dallas around 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Troopers identified the inmate responsible for the slashing as Joel Perez.

Court records said Perez is serving a life sentence for a 1996 murder conviction in Lancaster County.

Authorities said Perez was moved to another state prison, but he has not yet been charged for the alleged slashing.

Investigators identified the injured corrections officer as Francis Petroski.

In a written statement, the prison superintendent commended Petroski and other corrections officers, who quickly restrained Perez after the attack.

People who live near the state prison and know officers inside SCI Dallas said the lockup can be a dangerous place to work.

“They’re basically just going in there to do their job, and this is what they get. I really don’t think they get paid enough money to go through this right now,” said Esther Morgan. “Hopefully they can carry some kind of Taser or pepper spray or something to defend themselves. I mean, it’s a state prison. It’s like you going in there, unarmed.”

State corrections officials told Newswatch 16 that corrections officers who work near inmates are not allowed to carry guns or pepper spray for safety reasons.

Officials said the state prison near Dallas is on lock down until further notice.

A statement said visitation has been cancelled and inmates will be fed in their cells until he lock down is lifted.

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