The maximum-security area of the Utah State Prison was locked down Tuesday night after an inmate was beaten and stabbed by two other inmates, prison officials said.

The victim is a federal prisoner transferred to Utah from another state. His identity is being withheld because of the likelihood that other inmates "would do him in in a minute" if he was not protected by a "cloak of anonymity," said prison spokesman Dave Franchina.Tuesday's incident appeared to arise out of a "local" incident, not related to the prisoner's status with the federal system, Franchina said.

The victim had been beaten about the face and stabbed several times in the chest with a piece of a welding rod or similar type weapon, Franchina said. The weapon has not been located. He was in stable condition at University Hospital Wednesday morning.

Guards discovered the inmate had been stabbed around 6:45 p.m. after he did not show up for a recreation period at the maximum-security Uinta 2 facility. When guards found him in his cell, he told them he had been stabbed, Franchina said.

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Prison officials are pursuing charges with the county attorney's office. Franchina said the two suspects are younger inmates who already face the possibility of spending the rest of their lives in prison.

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