Inmate hospitalized after assault at B.C. medium-security prison

The Mission Correctional Institution in Mission, B.C. is pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

An inmate was taken to hospital following an assault Saturday at a medium-security prison in British Columbia.

The Correctional Service of Canada says the injured inmate was evaluated by staff at Mission Institution, east of Vancouver, and transported to an outside hospital for treatment.

Mounties and prison officials are investigating the attack, the correctional service said in a statement Thursday.

“The assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken,” the statement said.

No other inmates or prison staff were injured in the assault, according to the agency.

“The safety and security of institutions, their staff, and the public remains the highest priority in the operations of the federal correctional system,” the correctional service said.

“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.”

Mission Institution, which opened in 1977, is a joint medium-security and minimum-security facility, with the capacity to house 324 medium-security inmates and 216 minimum-security inmates, according to the correctional service.