7 inmates dead in South Carolina prison fighting

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An eruption of bloody violence at a maximumsecurity prison in South Carolina left seven inmates dead and at least 17 others seriously injured, authorities said Monday.

Inmates fought for more than seven hours before authorities regained control early Monday at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, according to state prisons spokesman Jeff Taillon. He said no officers were hurt in the melee.

Most of the slain inmates were stabbed with homemade knives or slashed, while the remainder appeared to have been beaten, Lee County Coroner Larry Logan told The Associated Press on Monday.

“How else are you going to die in prison? They don’t have guns,” Logan said by phone as he went to a Florence hospital to finish identifying the dead. Autopsies should confirm their causes of death, and their names won’t be released until their families are notified, Logan said.

At least 20 inmates have been killed by fellow prisoners in South Carolina since the start of 2017.

Taillon said the 17 inmates who were injured required medical attention outside the prison, which is located 40 miles east of Columbia.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections tweeted that the deaths happened in multiple inmate-on-inmate altercations in three housing units. It was unclear what sparked the violence, which began at around 7: 15 p.m. Sunday.

Lee County Fire/rescue said ambulances from multiple jurisdictions lined up outside to tend to the wounded.