Disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was reportedly attacked by a fellow inmate in prison. Nassar allegedly made a lewd comment while watching a women's Wimbledon match, prompting the attack. The comment reportedly set off the attacker, who stabbed Nassar multiple times with a makeshift weapon.
The accused inmate, Shane McMillan, has previous convictions related to prison attacks, the Associated Press reported. Joe Rojas, president of the union that serves employees of Nassar's prison, the US Penitentiary Coleman II in Sumterville, Florida, told Insider the attack was shocking because most prisoners fear retaliation and behave. Today, he fears there could be another attack.
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The attack happened Sunday afternoon.
Nassar was attacked in his cell after watching a tennis match with other inmates earlier in the day. Rojas alleged Nassar said, "I wish there were girls playing," while watching Wimbledon, according to Insider.
The comment seemingly upset McMillan, who allegedly stabbed the convicted sex offender six times in the neck, chest, and back until multiple inmates stepped in to pull him off of Nassar, AP reported. Because the attack happened in the cell and not in a common area, there is reportedly no video of the attack.
Officers performed life-saving measures on Nassar.
Corrections officers reportedly rushed to the cell and attempted to save Nassar's life. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, which include a collapsed lung. AP reported Nassar is now in stable condition.
Nassar has been attacked twice since his incarceration period began. He was first attacked by a member of the general population in a holding facility in Oklahoma just six months after his conviction, USA Today reported.
Rojas said this type of attack could lead to more violence.
In an interview with Insider, Rojas said the prison was already understaffed prior to the attack, but this made the situation even worse. The prison has 1,100 positions. Before the attack on Nassar, there were 145 vacancies, and now there are 214.
"There's gonna be another disturbance," Rojas said. "The inmates know we're short-staffed. Inmates know we don't have the bodies to maintain security levels."
McMillian is reportedly no stranger to prison violence.
A court initially sentenced him to 20 years in prison in 2002, according to USA Today, for the distribution of methamphetamine in Wyoming. His sentence was nearly doubled after a series of prison attacks. He was convicted of assaulting a correctional officer in Louisiana in 2006 and tried to stab an inmate in Florence, Colorado, in 2011. His current release date is 2046, but that could be extended if he is convicted in the Nassar case.
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Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison.
The former physician will spend the rest of his life in jail after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges and state sexual abuse charges in 2017. He is the subject of multiple documentaries that outline his heinous sexual abuse against minors. Nassar famously served as a doctor for the US women's gymnastics team, where he is accused of sexually abusing hundreds of athletes.
