BURKE COUNTY, N.C. -- A man is accused of using a homemade weapon to attack a prison officer over the weekend.

It happened at Foothills Correctional Institution. Hospital officials say officer Robby Benfield is doing okay and may be able to go home soon.

The North Carolina Public Safety Department say 19-year-old Jose Rios has a history of dangerous behavior including prison time for a double murder he pleaded guilty to in Gaston County last summer.

Rios also has six infractions, two at the Polk Correctional Institute in Granville County and four in the Foothills.

Director of Prisons Kenneth Lassiter says he is grateful for the officers investigating this case.

“I want to see the inmate prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. As I, and others have been stating, the inmates the prison system must now manage are increasingly more violent than in years past and it will take everyone from employees, to our law enforcement partners, as well as the executive and legislative branches to make our prisons safer,” he says.

Rios will face assault charges for the attack.