A correctional officer at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore was stabbed by an inmate on Thursday afternoon and critically injured.

The stabbing occurred at around 12:35 p.m. in the prison's dining hall during the noon meal, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The injured corrections officer was flown by helicopter to an unspecified hospital.

Prison officials said the inmate, identified as Cleveland Cunningham, assaulted and stabbed the officer in retaliation for being denied an extra tray of food.

Correctional officers responded and restrained the inmate.

Cunningham is serving a 20-year sentence on a 2013 first-degree robbery conviction in Baldwin County. The inmate was segregated from general population without further incident, according to ADOC.

No other inmates were involved in the stabbing.

The facility was placed on lockdown while ADOC officials investigate the incident.

ADOC is not releasing the name of the officer pending the ongoing investigation.