Serial killer Robert Pickton in life-threatening condition after prison attack

Convicted Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is in life-threatening condition after an attack in a Quebec prison.

He is reportedly undergoing surgery after being flown to a hospital.

No further details about his injuries were released, but the Vancouver Sun reported Tuesday that he was “impaled in the head with a broken broom-like handle.”

Pickton, 74, was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for at least 25 years. He was accused of the murders of 26 women.

Before his sentencing, remains and DNA of at least 33 women were discovered at Pickton’s pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He once claimed to have killed 49 women, many of whom were sex workers, drug addicts or others from vulnerable communities.

It took more than 20 years for police to target Pickton while investigating the disappearance of dozens of women, leading to criticism of the lengthy investigation.

The attack occurred sometime Sunday afternoon at the high-security Port-Cartier facility, about 300 miles northeast of Quebec City, Correctional Service Canada confirmed Tuesday.

The Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police, said a suspect, a 51-year-old fellow inmate, was in custody over the attack and had been placed in solitary confinement. The identity of the attacker was not revealed.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the alleged attacker has attacked other inmates in the past.

A source told the newspaper that Pickton was taken to the Hospital of the Child Jesus in Quebec City.

“We cannot release any further details, including medical information,” the correctional service said in a statement. “The safety of the facilities is a top priority and an investigation into what happened is ongoing.”

_____