Prison Riot Leaves 7 Dead, 17 Injured in South Carolina

An overnight prison riot in South Carolina left seven inmates dead and 17 more injured. No guards were injured in the melee.

In an incident that began at about 7 p.m. Sunday night, South Carolina prison officials said numerous fights broke out in three maximum security housing units. The riots continued until nearly 3 a.m., Fox News reported Monday morning.

The riots broke out in the Lee Correctional Institution near Bishopville, South Carolina. The facility has been the scene of several incidents of violence in recent history, the news outlet reported.

Several surrounding counties provided law enforcement support to Lee County have the “mass casualty incident” broke out Sunday evening. State police officers also responded to the call for assistance.

Prison spokesman Jeff Taillon announced that no prison officers received injuries during the incident. The 17 injured prisoners required medical attention outside of the prison, The Journal Times reported.

Prison officials tweeted that injuries occurred during “inmate-on-inmate” violence.

The Lee Correctional Institution houses approximately 1,500 inmates, the local newspaper reported.

In February, one inmate killed another inmate inside the prison’s walls. In 2015, prison guards became the recipients of violence as inmates stabbed two officers.

Last year, four inmates died at the hands of two other inmates at the Kirkland Correctional Institution.