More details are emerging about the stabbing of former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving a decadeslong prison sentence in Florida after being convicted of sexually abusing young female gymnasts.
Nassar, 59, was stabbed six times in the chest and twice each in the neck and back, according to Joe Rojas, president of Local 506, the union that represents employees at the United States Penitentiary, Coleman in Sumterville, Florida, where Nassar is incarcerated.
The Associated Press identified Nassar’s assailant as 49-year-old inmate Shane McMillan, who told prison officials that he attacked Nassar in his cell after the former U.S. women’s gymnastics team doctor made a crude comment while watching Wimbledon coverage on television. According to the outlet, McMillan said Nassar “made a comment about wanting to see girls playing in the Wimbledon women’s match.”
Lifesaving measures were performed on Nassar before he was transported to a local hospital for further treatment. He was in stable condition as of Monday with injuries that included a collapsed lung, Rojas told USA TODAY Sports.
WHAT WE KNOW: Ex-USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar stabbed in prison.
Sunday’s altercation marked the second time Nassar was attacked in prison.
Nassar, who is serving an effective life sentence after pleading guilty in 2017 to federal child pornography charges and state sexual abuse charges, was moved from a prison in Tucson, Arizona, to a holding facility in Oklahoma City after he was assaulted while a member of the general prison population just six months after sentencing. He was eventually transferred to the Florida prison.
McMillan was originally sentenced to more than 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Wyoming in 2002, but his sentence was nearly doubled after he was involved in several prison attacks. McMillan was convicted for assaulting a correctional officer in Louisiana in 2006 and for attempting to stab another inmate to death in Florence, Colorado in 2011. He’s scheduled to be released in 2046, but he could face a lengthier sentence if charged and convicted for the attack on Nassar.
Contributing: Steve Gardner, Nancy Armour; The Assoiated Press
