At least seven people are dead after fights broke out at a maximum security prison in South Carolina, according to authorities.
Local fire and rescue officials said that they were responding to a "mass casualty incident" Monday morning at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, which serves as a state prison for men.
Few details were offered about what had actually happened inside the facility, which is maximum security and houses around 1,600 inmates, according to Department of Corrections records.
The department said that seven inmates were killed and that 17 had injuries requiring outside medical help after multiple fights broke out around 7:15 p.m. Sunday.
Last month, inmates in one part of the prison allegedly took an officer hostage and controlled one side of a dormitory, part of a troubled history that has saw one inmate kill another in February and two officers stabbed in 2015.
The Department of Corrections said that all corrections and law enforcement officers are safe and that the fights were over by 3 a.m. Monday.
