Inmates lock officer in cell at South Carolina prison
McCORMICK, S.C. (NewsNation Now) — Inmates at a South Carolina men’s prison locked an officer inside a cell Sunday night, but no one escaped, state corrections officials said.
The South Carolina Department of Corrections said the incident occurred at McCormick Correctional Institution in McCormick, which is roughly 80 miles west of Columbia. After the officer was locked in a cell, five inmates were caught near an interior prison yard fence at about 6 p.m. EST, according the state corrections agency.
No one escaped, and the facility was secured several hours later, NewsNation affiliate WJBF reported.
Two inmates were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No staff members were injured in the incident.
The state’s Corrections Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating. No other details have been released at this time.
In a statement provided to NewsNation, SCDC Director Bryan Stirling thanked the local sheriff’s department, police, emergency medical personnel, the state’s Law Enforcement Division and South Carolina Highway Patrol for their help responding to the incident.