B.C. prison assaults send 2 inmates to hospital after separate attacks

Prison security fencing is seen in this undated photo. (Pexels.com)

Two inmates were hospitalized after separate assaults at British Columbia prisons last week.

The Correctional Service of Canada says the first assault occurred June 4 at the medium-security Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford.

The prisoner was evaluated by staff and transported to an outside hospital for treatment.

The second assault occurred the following day on June 5, when an inmate at the maximum-security Kent Institution, northwest of Agassiz, was attacked and also assessed by prison staff before he was taken to an outside hospital for treatment.

The severity of their injuries and whether the men remain in hospital is unknown. The assistant wardens for both federal prisons did not return requests for information on the condition of the inmates Wednesday.

The Agassiz RCMP and the Abbotsford Police Department are investigating the attacks, alongside prison officials.

Correctional staff say the assailants in both assaults have been identified and "the appropriate actions have been taken."

No other prisoners or staff members were injured in either cases, according to the correctional service.

"The safety and security of institutions, their staff, and the public remains the highest priority in the operations of the federal correctional system," the federal agency said in separate statements about the assaults.

"In order to improve practices aimed at preventing this type of incident, the Correctional Service of Canada will review the circumstances of the incident and take the appropriate measures."

Built in 1979, Kent Institution can house approximately 378 prisoners and is the only maximum-security prison in the Pacific region.

The larger and older Matsqui prison can house approximately 446 inmates and was originally built in 1966 as a drug-treatment facility before it was converted to a prison in 1981.