A riot in the Ware State Prison in Waycross, Georgia, left five injured and the facility in lockdown on Saturday night.
The Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Joan Heath acknowledged that there was a “disturbance caused by inmates” in a statement released early Sunday. She reported that two guards received “minor non-life-threatening injuries” and that three inmates had also suffered “non-life-threatening” injuries during the riot.
The chaos began at 10:45 p.m. on Saturday night and order was restored to the prison after a lockdown was implemented around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Heath said it is not clear how the disturbance began.
“A golf cart was set on fire and several windows were broken, but no major damage to the facility has been reported. Officers deployed non-lethal ammunition, and the incident was brought under control,” Heath said.
Some footage was filmed and posted to social media during the riot. Videos appeared to show inmates and officers clashing in the dark prison with various fires burning throughout the facility. The prison holds roughly 1,500 male inmates.
Prisoners at Ware State Prison in Georgia are revolting. Reports still coming in by rumor they have seized the armory. Around 1500 insurgents. Prisoners are fighting for their lives and we all need to pay attention. pic.twitter.com/DDvDrd3yvd
— Vitalist International (@VitalistInt) August 2, 2020
Tensions in the facility have been escalated over the past few weeks following the homicide of an inmate at the hands of another inmate. The prison has also been struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak that has claimed the lives of two inmates and infected 22 inmates and 32 staff members.
