Former gang member arrested for brutally stabbing Derek Chauvin with 22 knife wounds

An inmate in a US prison has been charged with attempted murder for stabbing Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted for the death of George Floyd. Prosecutors allege that John Turscak, a former gang member, used an improvised blade to stab Chauvin 22 times in an attack that took place on November 24th at a federal prison in Arizona. Fortunately, Chauvin survived the assault and is reported to be in stable condition. Currently serving multiple sentences related to Floyd's death, which sparked widespread protests and riots across the country, Chauvin was specifically targeted by Turscak, who is a former member of a Mexican Mafia gang. The attack occurred in the prison's law library during lunchtime. While Turscak initially stated to correctional officers that he intended to kill Chauvin if they had not intervened, he later denied this to FBI agents. According to court documents, Turscak informed the agents that he chose the date of the attack, Black Friday, symbolically connecting it to the Black Lives Matter movement and the Mexican Mafia's Black Hand symbol. Black Lives Matter played a significant role in organizing racial justice protests following the killing of Floyd by Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, in May 2020. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted Chauvin, expressed sadness about the stabbing and emphasized that incarcerated individuals should be able to serve their sentences without fear of violence or retaliation.