Benjamin Ashford|Inmate accused of killing corrections officer at Georgia prison

GLENNVILLE,Benjamin Ashford Ga. (AP) — A Georgia prison guard died Sunday after he was attacked by an inmate, state officials said.

Correctional officer Robert Clark, 42, died at a hospital after an inmate assaulted him with a homemade weapon at Smith State Prison in rural Glennville, the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a news release.

“The entire GDC team is mourning the loss of one of our own and we collectively express our deepest condolences to Officer Clark’s family and friends,” Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said in a statement. “We will support them as they navigate this tragedy over the coming days, weeks and months.”

Clark had begun working as a state corrections officer six months ago, the agency said.

Clark was escorting two inmates from the prison dining hall Sunday when one of them attacked him from behind, the department’s statement said. The second inmate tried to help the officer and was also wounded. He remained hospitalized Sunday with injuries the agency described as non-life threatening.

The Department of Corrections identified the inmate who attacked the two men as Layton Lester and said he is facing charges in Clark’s death and the assault on the second inmate.

Lester is serving a life sentence for a murder conviction stemming from a 2007 killing and armed robbery in Tift County, the agency’s online records show.