DELANO– California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating attack of a peace officer at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) as an attempted homicide.
On April 26, 2025, at approximately 5:40 p.m., incarcerated person Malcolm Scott used an improvised weapon to stab an officer as he was being escorted from his cell, striking the officer in the neck. Staff immediately responded, disarming and restraining Scott without further incident.
The injured officer was transported to an outside medical facility where he was treated and released. Several staff members received minor injuries. Scott has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the KVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for possible felony prosecution.
Peer support and Employee Assistance Program services are being offered to employees. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association was notified.
Scott, 42, was received from Los Angeles County on May 30, 2006. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, with enhancements for the discharge of a firearm, being armed with a firearm and Street Gang Act. He was also sentenced for battery on a non-prisoner, an in-prison offense, as a second striker by Imperial County on July 19, 2013, to four years ; by Los Angeles County on April 9, 2018, to nine years (with an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury); by Kings County on Sept. 3, 2019, to four years; and by Sacramento County on Oct. 11, 2019, to four years.
KVSP opened in 2005 and houses over 3,100 minimum, medium, and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,500 people.
