7 killed over 7 hours of rioting at S.C. prison

BISHOPVILLE, S.C. – Gangs fighting over territory most likely triggered seven hours of violence that left seven people dead and 17 injured at a maximum security prison containing some of the state’s most dangerous convicts, authorities said Monday.

Clashes among inmates at Lee Correctional Institution erupted around

7:15 p.m. Sunday, state Corrections Department chief Bryan Stirling said at a news conference. The fighting spread to three housing units, but no officers were wounded, he said.

Stirling said law enforcement officers had to retake the housing units one at a time, placing inmates back in cells. Such efforts routinely can take

90 minutes for one dorm, he said. “We gathered as many people as we could as quickly as we could and went in when we thought it was safe,” Stirling said.

Stirling said teams entering the housing units faced no resistance from the inmates. He said order was restored by 3 a.m. The department’s police service unit and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated the unrest.

South Carolina House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, called the riot a “symptom” of the problems facing the criminal justice system. “A mass casualty incident inside a correctional facility is simply unacceptable,” Rutherford tweeted. “Safety — for inmates, SCDC employees, and the public — must be a priority. Rioting like this is a symptom our criminal justice system is broken and needs reform now.”

Inmates’ family members who gathered at the facility Monday were provided little information. The names of the dead were released shortly before noon.

Lee County Coroner Larry Logan told the Associated Press it appeared most of the deaths were a result of stabbing or slashing.

Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: WLTX-TV in Columbia, S.C.