CNN
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Court documents reveal that the inmate who attacked Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted in the killing of George Floyd, stabbed him approximately 22 times with an improvised knife after planning the attack for about a month.
According to the federal complaint, the attack occurred in the law library at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time on November 24, causing serious bodily injury to Chauvin.
The criminal complaint added that federal corrections officers immediately deployed OC spray to subdue Turscak after the attack.
Turscak, now charged with attempted murder, admitted that he would have killed Chauvin had the officers not responded quickly, as per the complaint.
The complaint noted that Turscak’s attack on Black Friday was symbolic of the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia criminal organization.
Turscak faces three other counts, including assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
According to a news release from the District of Arizona’s US Attorney’s Office, attempted murder and assault with intent to commit murder violations each carry maximum penalties of 20 years’ incarceration, while assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury each carry maximum penalties of 10 years’ incarceration.
Chauvin, who is serving two concurrent sentences in Floyd’s 2020 murder, was convicted in April 2021 on state charges. He received a 22-and-a-half-year sentence.
He later pleaded guilty to federal charges of depriving Floyd of his civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police treatment of Black Americans in the US.
An investigation revealed the city and its police department engaged in “a pattern or practice of race discrimination,” according to a 2022 report.
CNN has reached out to Chauvin’s attorney Friday for comment.
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
