A four-day lockdown and search at Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford resulted in the discovery of several unauthorized items, including “various stabbing weapons,” according to Correctional Service Canada (CSC).
A CSC press release issued Thursday (Jan. 18) said the lockdown was in place from Jan. 11 to 15.
The institution has since resumed regular operations, and visits have been reinstated, the release states.
CSC previously reported that several inmates were involved in an altercation at the prison on Jan. 4, resulting in “many” being injured and two taken to hospital.
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Abbosford Regional Hospital was placed on lockdown for a period that evening to ensure public safety, police confirmed at the time.
CSC did not indicate the nature of the inmates’ injuries.
That same day at around the same time, three inmates at Kent Institution in Agassiz were also assaulted and taken to hospital with critical injuries.
A subsequent search at Kent on Jan. 5 turned up a variety of stabbing weapons, according to a press release from Jan. 12.
A previous incident at Matsqui Institution also occurred on April 29, 2023, when four inmates were stabbed at the prison. Four homemade weapons were among items found during a lockdown and search that followed.
RELATED: 4 homemade weapons found in Abbotsford prison after 4 inmates stabbed