Mar 7, 2013 1 min read

WAYMART (AP) — A union representing federal corrections officers says there’s been a pattern of violent altercations involving weapons at federal prison in northeastern Pennsylvania where a guard was killed last week.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports union officials say there have been at least seven such incidents at the Wayne County facility in the past six months, including two cases in which inmates attacked staff.

Authorities say Eric Williams was working in a housing unit when an inmate using a homemade weapon attacked him. Union officials say Williams was working alone at the time and that staffing levels at the facility and other federal prisons are unsafe.

But a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons says one corrections officer to a housing unit has been typical staffing for many years.