Robert Pickton attacked in prison

British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison on Sunday, suffering life-threatening injuries in what officials described as a “serious assault.”

Correctional Services Canada said Pickton, 74, was taken from the Port Cartier facility to a hospital for further treatment, but the agency declined to provide further details on the nature and severity of his injuries.

Quebec provincial police said the attack occurred in the prison at around 5:15 p.m. and that the victim “suffered serious injuries, so we fear for his life.”

Police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu added that a 51-year-old suspect was still detained in prison following the attack and was “being questioned by investigators.”

“The attacker has been identified and appropriate measures have been taken,” the prison service added, noting that no staff at the high-security facility were involved in the attack.

“We cannot disclose any further details, including medical information,” the agency added in a statement to CTV News.

“The security of the institutions is our highest priority and an investigation is currently underway into what happened.”

The Port-Cartier prison, located about 500 kilometers northeast of Quebec City, has the capacity to accommodate 237 inmates, according to the prison service.

“The Serious Crime Investigation Unit is currently conducting an investigation to shed light on this incident,” Beaulieu added.

Pickton parole eligibility

Pickton was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder after being charged with the deaths of more than two dozen women, including numerous who disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the next 25 years in 2007.

Pickton was given credit for time spent in custody following his 2002 arrest and became eligible for day parole in February. He could then be eligible for full parole in 2027.

His parole eligibility sparked outrage from the families of his victims and a dozen Metro Vancouver mayors, who wrote a letter last month to the country’s attorney general and justice minister, Arif Virani, saying that granting parole to the notorious killer would undermine the integrity of Canada’s justice system.

“Dangerous working conditions”

Virani spoke about the attack on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, telling reporters his thoughts were first and foremost with the families of the convicted killer’s victims.

“We understand your pain,” said the Justice Minister. “We understand the problems of violence against indigenous women.”

Questions about Pickton’s parole eligibility should not be answered by himself or Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, but by the Parole Board of Canada, he added.

For his part, LeBlanc told reporters he was informed of the attack on the prison on Sunday evening, adding that Pickton was taken to a hospital in Quebec City for treatment.

“One of my biggest concerns, of course, is the safety of these facilities and the men and women who work in these prisons,” LeBlanc said.

“These are very difficult and dangerous working conditions. When I learned of this incident, I also thought of the women and men who work at the facility to protect Canadians.”

The Minister of Public Safety said he recently visited a maximum security prison in New Brunswick and learned how difficult it is for prison staff to deal with potentially violent confrontations between inmates.

“A lot of time is spent monitoring the movements of individuals within the prison. These are exactly the kinds of circumstances they will be looking into in their internal investigation,” he said.