7 killed, 17 injured in South Carolina prison riot

WASHINGTON, United States: Seven inmates were killed and 17 others injured in a riot at a maximum security prison in South Carolina, one of the deadliest in decades in the United States, authorities said Monday. Fights among inmates erupted Sunday evening at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina and was brought under control at 2:55 am on Monday. “The incident at Lee CI resulted in 17 inmates requiring outside medical attention and seven inmates were killed,” the department said on its Twitter account. All prison guards and law enforcement authorities who responded were “safe and accounted for,” it said. The department had initially described the riot as an “ongoing incident,” only revealing the scope of the problem hours after its start at 7:15 pm Sunday. “The incident involved multiple inmate on inmate altercations in three housing units,” the department said.