Rikers Island correction officer stabbed 15 times by inmate in unprovoked attack

A city correction officer was stabbed 15 times by an inmate on Rikers Island Monday in an “unprovoked heinous” attack, officials said.

The inmate, Dennis Applewhite, who’s locked away on a murder charge, is accused of repeatedly knifing the officer in the back of the head inside the Anna M. Kross Center at around 4:45 p.m., officials said.

The correction officer suffered serious injuries and was rushed to an area hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

“This was an unprovoked heinous and callous attack on one of our dedicated officers, who was simply doing their job,” DOC Commissioner Louis Molina said in a statement. “We will not tolerate any assaults on our Members of Service who show up to work each day to keep our jails safe.”

The Department of Correction is investigating the attack and has re-arrested Applewhite, Molina added.

“We are praying for this officer to make a speedy recovery,” he said.

The Correction Officers Benevolent Association said the guard was working in the protective custody unit when he was ambushed.

COBA President Benny Boscio said he has visited the officer at the hospital and the Rikers staffer is conscious and undergoing tests.

Boscio said the bloody assault shows why solitary confinement is needed in city jails.

“This heinous attack demonstrates exactly why the Public Advocate and City Council must immediately pull the Bill to end punitive segregation before one of us gets killed,” he said.

Applewhite is being held at Rikers as he awaits trial for the alleged murder of his pregnant girlfriend in her Lower East Side apartment on Nov. 11, 2021. He reportedly shot 27-year-old Brittani Duffy, who was three months pregnant at the time, in the neck.