Holly MatkinMichigan City, IN – Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC) Correctional Lieutenant Gene Lasco was murdered in the line of duty on Sunday when he was stabbed by an inmate.
The attack occurred in a common area of the Indiana State Prison at approximately 2:40 p.m., The Northwest Indiana Times reported.
According to investigators, Correctional Lt. Lasco, 57, and a second correctional officer were both stabbed by 38-year-old inmate Tymetri Campbell, who was already serving a sentence of 130 years in prison for three prior murders.
Both of the wounded correctional officers were transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital, where Correctional Lt. Lasco succumbed to his wounds, WMAQ reported.
The second correctional officer remains hospitalized in serious condition as of Sunday night, according to The Northwest Indiana Times.
Campbell is currently facing multiple charges in connection with the attack, to include murder, WMAQ reported.
Detectives from the Indiana State Police Lowell Post were investigating the incident.
Details regarding what led up to the deadly stabbing have not been released.
The maximum-security state prison is located 34 miles of South Bend, FOX News reported.
It has an inmate population of 2,300 and houses Indiana’s death row inmates, WISH reported.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our staff and their families,” DOC said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
An online petition demanding Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita seek the death penalty against Campbell has garnered over 550 signatures so far.
“Lt. Gene Lasco was loved by everyone he worked with, and well respected by the offenders behind the wall of Indiana State Prison,” the petition reads.
John Schymanoske, who endorsed the petition, described Correctional Lt. Lasco as “a friend, a mentor, and a hero.”
“He would have your back in a second’s notice,” Schymanoske wrote.
Correctional Lt. Lasco’s brother-in-law, Chris Bell, said he was “a father, a husband, a brother, a friend, and a good person that helped everyone.”
He called the slain correctional lieutenant’s murder “a senseless act of hate.”
Todd Rokita: Justice for Gene Lasco – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/XSZAGu7mDD via @Change
— Rebecca Welch (@bunne456) February 22, 2021
Rest In Peace Indiana Department of Corrections Lieutenant Gene Lasco. Thank you for your good and faithful service. pic.twitter.com/JZVh0sBs2K
— Wuz Fuzz (@XLSarge) February 22, 2021
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Indiana Department of Corrections Correctional Lieutenant Gene Lasco, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Correctional Lieutenant Gene Lasco, your life mattered.
