Altoona, PA – In nearby Altoona, a correctional officer was fatally shot after an altercation with an inmate at Altoona’s Central Court building, not by the prisoner but accidentally by another officer.
An unnamed prisoner had been in the building for a court proceeding when he disarmed the victim, Blair County Correctional Officer Rhonda Russell.
Another officer saw the altercation and shot at the suspect, but the shot hit Russell instead.
She was taken to UPMCA Altoona, where she was pronounced dead.
Multiple police and state agencies are now involved in the investigation of the shooting.
