Officer suffers stab wound in Kern County prison assault

Prison officials are investigating an assault on an officer at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano.

Early Saturday evening, a prisoner stabbed an officer with “an improvised weapon” as the incarcerated man was being moved from his cell, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The officer was stabbed in the neck and was transported to an outside medical facility, where he was treated and released, the press release stated. Several other staff members received minor injuries in connection with the incident.

The alleged assailant was identified as Malcolm Scott, who is serving multiple sentences, including a life sentence, with the possibility of parole, for first-degree murder in a 2006 case, according to the release. He also was sentenced for battery in an in-prison assault in 2013.

Scott, 42, has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation and the case has been referred to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for possible felony prosecution.

Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005 and houses more than 3,100 inmates.

This story was originally published April 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM.