The scene at Kinross Correctional Facility immediately after the attempted escape Thursday morning, July 15, shows the hijacked semitruck wrapped in wire fencing and (at right) part of the large gap left in the fence when the truck crashed through. Of the three prisoners who tried to escape, two were apprehended and one was killed. Kinross Correctional Facility has returned to normal operations and two attempted escapees are being lodged at Marquette Branch Prison after an inmate at the Kinross Correction was fatally shot during an attempted escape Thursday morning, July 15. Seth Privacky, along with fellow convicted murderers Andrew Ross and Brian Davidson, had overpowered a Michigan State Industries milk truck delivery driver who had backed up to the loading dock and was starting to exit his vehicle around 9 a.m. Once they got control of the truck, they tried to ram it through the facility's two layers of fencing.

After making it through the first perimeter, the vehicle became entangled in concertina wire, which slowed it down.

“It ran through two layers of fencing and got tangled up,” said Kinross Correctional's administrative assistant, Michael Sibbald. “They also didn't know how to drive a truck that big.”

The prisoners were warned to surrender, but Mr. Privacky made a break for it on foot and was shot. Guards are allowed to use deadly force under select circumstances.

“Escape from a secure facility is one of the reasons an officer can discharge his firearm,” Mr. Sibbald said.

Other situations where deadly force may be applied are to prevent death or serious personal injury to the self or others, to prevent the taking of hostages, to prevent the escape of any prisoner from a correctional facility, to prevent prisoners from the unauthorized unlocking of other prisoners' cells, or to prevent major damage to state property leading to death and injury, such as burning down a building.

A guard who observed the assault radioed the control tower and the facility was placed under lockdown, which resulted in all prisoners being put in their cells and all officers being accounted for.

The facility also received help from all local law enforcement agencies and correctional officers at the nearby Chippewa Correctional Facility, while corrections staff at facilities further away, such as Marquette Branch Prison, were placed on standby.

While the inmate population acted very well once they realized the severity of what was going on, according to Mr. Sibbald, many activities are suspended during lockdown and securing the perimeter. Prisoners were unable to eat in the Food Service Building until Friday morning, at which time programming such as schools, libraries, counseling programs, visiting, self-help groups, and the use of recreation areas were phased back into the daily routine.

The facility will not be releasing the name of the driver or the name of the officer responsible for the fatal shot. It was reported that the driver suffered only cuts, scratches, and contusions.

Kinross Correctional is a level 2 security prison. Since attempted escapees are immediately upgraded to level 5, the highest security level, the two inmates who surrendered will not be returning to this facility. All three prisoners started at level 5, owing to the severity of their crimes, but during their terms were eventually able to work their way to level 2, which is as low as they could go. Mr. Privacky had been serving five life sentences for execution-style murders of his parents, grandparent, brother, and brother's girlfriend on Thanksgiving Day 12 years ago.

Through the course of his incarceration, Mr. Privacky had approximately 30 major misconduct citatations, a comparatively high number, Mr. Sibbald said.

According to Kinross Correctional, the facility has been orderly since the escape attempt and there is no reason to expect any negative change in demeanor of the prison population.

Internal Affairs is conducting a routine examination of the circumstances of the shooting, while a policy committee will examine the circumstances of the attempted escape and what may be done to prevent a similar situation.

“Any time there's a significant incident in any of the major institutions, there's a detailed review and lessons-learned synopsis that goes out to all the facilities,” Mr. Sibbald said.