Fights at US prison leave 7 inmates dead

International Desk: Seven inmates were killed and 17 others were injured overnight at a South Carolina prison of the United States -- the fourth deadly incident at the facility in the past year.

No officers were injured in the latest fracas at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, said Jeffrey Taillon, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

The incident started at 7:15 p.m. ET Sunday and involved "multiple inmate altercations in three housing units," Taillon said. The facility was secured at 2:55 a.m. ET Monday.

No other details were given about what led to the fights.

Lee Correctional Institution has a capacity of about 1,650 inmates.

Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison for men, has been the site of several other violent and deadly outbreaks this past year, CNN affiliate WACH reported.

Last month, inmates reportedly overpowered an officer for more than an hour and took control of one side of a housing unit.

In February, inmate Robert Odell Brown was killed by another inmate at Lee Correctional Institution.

Last November, another dispute between two prisoners led to the stabbing death of inmate Larry Rainey.

And last July, inmate Christian D. Ray died from injuries suffered during a fight.

Source: CNN online


risingbd/Dhaka/April 16, 2018/AI