Update: SC Prison Director says Riot that left 7 Inmates dead was over territory, cell phones

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– South Carolina prisons director says the riot that left 7 inmates dead, was over territory, cellphones, contraband and money. SC Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling says there were three separate incidents at three different dorms “Not a normal situation”

“The folks that are incarcerated are going to continue their criminal ways from behind bars. Which is not only dangerous inside our institutions but it’s also dangerous outside of our institutions,” Stirling said. 

In a briefing Monday afternoon, Stirling says it took several hours to restore order, but once a special SWAT team entered, the inmates gave up peacefully.

“We did everything we could in our power to get there as quickly as possible. Again, we have to go in and make sure that we go in safely and with enough force so that if there is a response from the inmate population that we can put it down immediately,” Stirling said. 

Stirling says there were only two guards in each unit and they followed their training to back out and ask for support if they are outnumbered.

“This was three different dorms. So we had to go into three different dorms and we also had to evacuate the wounded. And people were leaving and they’re going to medical so it was not a normal situation where we were just going in and putting people back into their dorms,” Stirling said.  

SLED will investigate the incident.

PREVIOUS STORY——–

At least seven inmates were killed and 17 injured when a prison melee broke out at a South Carolina prison, officials said.

The “mass casualty incident” at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina, erupted around 7:15 p.m. and didn’t end until 2:55 this morning, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said in a statement.

The deadly altercation occurred in three housing units at the maximum security prison.

“All SCDC staff and responding law enforcement officers are safe and accounted for,” according to the statement.

Lee County Fire and Rescue a sent crews to assist in the “mass causality incident,” the agency said in a Facebook post.

This is a developing story, stay with ABC Columbia News for updates.