Attempted Homicide of Staff Member at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad is Under Investigation

SOLEDAD – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating an attack on a staff member at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) as attempted murder.

On Friday, August 28, 2026, at 12:43 p.m., staff saw incarcerated person 43-year-old Sean W. Cunningham strike a healthcare staff member from behind and then run away. Staff immediately came to the aid of the employee, initiating life-saving measures and activating 911. The injured employee was transferred to an outside medical facility for treatment. An improvised weapon was discovered at the scene.

Cunningham was subsequently located and placed into restraints without further incident and has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General was notified.

Cunningham was most recently received from Los Angeles County on April 8, 2009. He was sentenced to 49 years and 4 months for second-degree robbery as a second striker, with enhancements for use of a firearm, inflicting great bodily injury, and a prior felony conviction of a serious offense. He was sentenced on Nov. 30, 2016, by Kern County to 2 years and 8 months for resisting or deterring an officer with threat or violence as a second striker, an in-prison offense.

Peer support and other support services are being offered to employees.

SVSP opened in May 1996 in Monterey County. The institution houses approximately 2,300 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated individuals and employs approximately 1,500 staff.

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