Prison guard's death was suicide
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(AP) - The weekend death of a guard at the Stillwater state prison was a suicide, corrections officials said Monday.
He was identified as corrections officer Steven J. Jensen, 41, who had worked at Stillwater since 1989. He died of a single self-inflicted shotgun wound, said Shari Burt, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.
Jensen died shortly before his shift was to begin at 6 a.m. Sunday. No inmates were involved and no foul play was suspected, officials said.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Corrections are still investigating. Because the investigation won't be complete for a few weeks, Burt said, officials couldn't disclose whether Jensen left a suicide note or say anything about a possible motive.
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"It is a very sad and difficult time for Mr. Jensen's family and this agency," Corrections Commissioner Joan Fabian said in a statement.
The BCA was called in because the death happened at a state facility and involved a state employee. While the prison is named for nearby Stillwater, it is actually located in Bayport.
The prison was locked down after Jensen's death, which is standard procedure whenever there's a serious incident. The close-custody prison holds about 1,400 male inmates.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
