By Noah Feit
The State
COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the seventh time this month, an inmate at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center has been hospitalized after a violent attack at the jail.
An inmate was taken to an area hospital after being stabbed Tuesday night, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
At about 9:15 p.m., deputies were called to the jail and learned an inmate was stabbed multiple times in his upper and lower body, according to the release.
When deputies arrived, the inmate had already been transported to the hospital, the sheriff’s department said. Further information on the inmate’s condition was not available.
There was no word on a motive for the stabbing, or the number of inmates involved.
No arrests have been reported by the sheriff’s department, which is continuing to investigate the attack.
Recent violence
There have been other violent incidents in the jail this month. Including the most recent attack, deputies have reported six hospitalizations for stabbings inside the jail in May.
▪ On May 11, three inmates at the jail were stabbed in two attacks, according to the sheriff’s department.
The victims were taken to a local hospital by EMS, but further information about their conditions was not available.
There was no word on a motive in either of the attacks, and both were committed with a “lethal cutting instrument,” according to incident reports.
The sheriff’s department has not reported any arrests in either of the attacks.
▪ On May 25, a 29-year-old man who’s an inmate at the jail was found with a laceration and knot over his right eye and swelling all over his face around 11 p.m., the sheriff’s department said.
The inmate also suffered a 2-inch stab wound on his lower leg, along with multiple other cuts on his right arm and on both hands, according to the sheriff’s department.
He was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Further information on his condition was not available.
▪ On May 26, deputies were called to the jail at about 2:45 p.m. after jail staff reported that two inmates had gotten into a fight during recreation time.
During the fight, a 25-year-old male inmate received cuts to his upper body. Three homemade knives were recovered following the attack, according to the sheriff’s department.
▪ On May 27, deputies said they responded to reports of an assault at the jail in Columbia.
The deputies discovered that several inmates got into a fight in the jail’s medical dorm and a 35-year-old man locked up at the jail was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Further information on the inmate’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word about how many inmates were involved in the fight or the motive for the violence.
No arrests have been reported by the sheriff’s department, which is continuing to investigate the fight.
Ongoing problem
Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center has been under scrutiny because of severe understaffing, violence inside the jail and reports of poor conditions for detainees. Four people died at the jail between February 2022 and January 2023.
The jail is managed by the Richland County government, not the sheriff’s department.
In all, the sheriff’s department has reported 10 assaults in the jail in 2023.
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