Convicted murderer bludgeons to death 16-year veteran corrections officer with a HAMMER at Minnesota prison

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A corrections officer died Wednesday after authorities say an inmate attacked him with a hammer at Minnesota's flagship Stillwater state prison, prompting a lockdown at the state's entire prison system.

Officer Joseph Gomm was attacked by convicted killer Edward Muhammad Johnson, 42, at 1.30pm on Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said. 

Gomm, 45, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul but was pronounced dead.

'The corrections family is reeling from this incident,' state Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy told reporters. 'We are not accustomed to losing staff.'

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Convicted killer Edward Johnson, 42 (left), is accused of killing Minnesota corrections officer Joseph Gomm (right) in the line of duty on Wednesday 

The attack took place at Minnesota's flagship Stillwater state prison, in the prison's industry building

Roy said Johnson was believed to be 'the lone perpetrator' of the deadly attack. 

The assault on Gomm happened in the prison's industry building, which houses a welding shop and carpentry programs.

Authorities did not give details about the assault, but sources tells local news outlets, among them KSTP, that Johnson bludgeoned Gomm with a hammer, possibly after stabbing him, while the officer was on patrol.

Gomm, like most guards, was armed only with pepper spray and a radio. Guns are typically used by officers stationed in watch towers and assigned to crisis response teams.

On Thursday, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said Johnson has been moved to the state’s maximum security facility in Oak Park Heights and is in segregation. 

Johnson was convicted of second-degree homicide in 2003 and was serving a nearly 29-year sentence for stabbing to death his 22-year-old roommate in the presence of her young daughter. 

State Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy confirms the death of Joseph Gomm at the Department of Corrections on Wednesday

Chicago Tribune reported that both of Johnson's parents were police officers in the 1980s. As a child, Johnson watched his father shoot and kill his mother and then himself in the midst of a divorce.  

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has arrived at the prison to investigate, Roy said.

Roy called Gomm 'a fine man doing honorable work,' who had just celebrated his 16th year as a corrections officer the previous day.

In a statement, Gov. Mark Dayton said he was 'appalled' by Gomm's killing, and offered his sympathies to the officer's family, friends and fellow corrections officers.

Mark Groves, president of the Minnesota Corrections Association, said the union was 'deeply saddened' by Gomm's death but referred questions to the Department of Corrections.

End of watch: Gomm, 45, had just celebrated his 16th year as a corrections officer on Tuesday

Roy, the corrections commissioner, said the Stillwater prison, and others in the system, are on lockdown in 'an abundance of caution' while authorities assess whether the attack was an isolated incident. He said he did not expect the lockdown to continue.

Rogers police Chief Jeff Beahen, president of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, told the Star Tribune he has offered Gomm’s family a 'line-of-duty' funeral, a procession that typically includes bagpipes and attracts hundreds of officers from across the state and beyond. 

A corrections officer was assaulted earlier this year at the prison, but Gomm's death marks the first time that a Minnesota prison guard was killed while on duty.

Stillwater has two levels of security, minimum and 'close.' The latter ranks just below maximum security. Roy said the prison had 1,616 prisoners, about one-third of them serving homicide sentences.

In March, assaults by inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights sent 10 employees to the hospital. Last month, the maximum security prison was placed on lockdown after an inmate attacked a corrections officer, causing serious injuries.

At a news conference Thursday authorities said that Johnson had an extensive disciplinary record.

It was revealed he has served about 1,700 days in segregation for various incidents during his time in prison, though he hasn't spent time there in over two years. 

Authorities are still investigating the attack, and Johnson hasn't been charged in Gomm's death.