An inmate inside the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Holmesburg stabbed a prison officer numerous times in the head, neck and arms during a routine prisoner count last Wednesday.
A man awaiting trial for attempted murder, who was identified in published reports as Matthew Early, 20, allegedly used a shank fashioned from a nail to attack the 25-year-old corrections officer, whose name was not released. The incident occurred at about 6 p.m. in a heightened-security section of the prison, which Pope Francis is planning to visit on Sept. 27. Paramedics took the victim to Aria Health’s Torresdale hospital, where he was treated and released that night.
Early remains in prison in special custody and will be re-arrested for aggravated assault and related charges. He is awaiting trial for attempted murder stemming from a December 2012 incident on a SEPTA train after a Sixers game during which he allegedly shot two Chicago Bulls fans. ••