Ohio corrections officer killed in Christmas Day prison attack: 'Beyond comprehension'

An inmate allegedly assaulted and killed a veteran corrections officer on Christmas Day at an Ohio prison, an attack authorities said was "beyond comprehension."

Officer Andrew Lansing was attacked Wednesday at the Ross Correctional Institution (RCI) in Chillicothe, about 43 miles south of Columbus, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

The inmate suspected of killing Lansing was not immediately identified by prison officials, who said he had been transferred to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio.

"The loss of a staff person is difficult, but to lose a family member on Christmas Day at the hands of someone in our custody is a tragedy beyond comprehension," Annette Chambers-Smith, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said in a statement. "Instead of going home after his shift to be with his family on this holiday, Officer Lansing made the ultimate sacrifice, and our agency will never be the same."

Chamber-Smith released few details on the attacks, including where in the sprawling 1,707-acre prison Lansing was assaulted and whether the inmate was armed with a weapon.

Lansing was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Of the nearly 2,000 inmates housed at the prison, 50% of them have been identified as a "security threat group," according to a report released in September by the Ohio General Assembly's Correctional Institution Inspection Committee following an unannounced inspection of the Ross Correctional Institution.

As of September, the prison employed 320 corrections officers, about 47 positions short of being fully staffed, according to the report.

The prison has been put on lockdown as the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigates the homicide.

Chamber-Smith described Lansing as "a long-time, well-respected employee" at the Ross Correctional Institution and added, that his "untimely death -- on Christmas Day -- is heartbreaking for his family, the entire Ross Correctional Institution family, and our agency as a whole."

"Officer Lansing was loved by his colleagues and known to be a great support for his fellow RCI staff," Chamber-Smith said. "He was a friendly, outgoing officer who treated everyone with respect and was always a professional."

The General Assembly committee's surprise inspection of the prison in September found 34 violent incidents were committed against the staff, a 5.6% decrease from 2022. But the report also found that fights among inmates, including those involving four or more inmates, had jumped 23% from 2022.

The report found that no homicides had occurred at the prison between 2019 and 2023 and that security and staffing adjustments made earlier this year had helped to reduce violence.