3 officers assaulted, 1 held hostage in 'disturbance' at prison: Officials

A group of Tennessee prison inmates assaulted three correctional officers and held one of them hostage on Sunday, authorities said.

The incident took place after 16 inmates caused a disturbance at the Turney Center Industrial Complex in Only, Tennessee, located about 60 miles west of Nashville, authorities said.

Two of the officers were removed from the unit immediately, while a third was held hostage "for a period of time," the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement. The officers were airlifted to a local hospital.

The prison did not offer any information on the officers' condition.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with these officers," Tennessee Commissioner of Correction Tony Parker said in a statement Sunday. "Any threat to the security of our institution or threat to our staff will be investigated and charged appropriately."

The disturbance began at around 4 p.m. local time and lasted for about three hours, officials said. The facility was placed on lockdown following the incident and the inmates involved were transferred to a maximum security facility.

A Turney Center inmate called ABC affiliate WKRN as the incident unfolded.

"Everybody's on edge in here, everybody's on edge, and they know if they give the officer up, more than likely people are going to die," said the inmate who was not identified by name.

"There's already been some officers in here, they are ready to kill. These officers are ready to kill."

The prison houses about 1,500 inmates, with a majority of the beds categorized as medium security.