SWAT Called after Inmate Attacked, Fire Set at South Carolina Jail

Sheriff’s deputies in Lancaster County are investigating after SWAT was called because an inmate was assaulted, a fire was set and guards were threatened Thursday night inside the jail, officials said.

In a statement, Lancaster County Sheriff’s officials said the incident happened before 8 p.m. in a cell block with six inmates. Sheriff’s officials said the inmates threatened to harm officers who wanted to go into the cell block.

“Two inmates had assaulted a third (inmate),” the statement said. “Corrections officers ordered all six inmates to return to their individual cells — or lock down — within the cell block, but they refused. Some among them broke a window at the top of a wall, poured water and soap on the floor, and threatened to harm officers who might enter the cell block. Smoke was soon observed in the cell block, and it was determined that the inmates had set a fire with papers, books, and fabric items in the cell block.”

Lancaster County SWAT, additional deputies, Lancaster Police Department officers and a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper responded to the jail, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Officers could see one inmate was bleeding, so officers went into the cell block, Barfield said in the statement.

The inmate who was bleeding had intentionally cut himself, likely with a piece of glass from the broken window, Barfield said. That inmate was airlifted with a deputy as a guard to a hospital, Barfield said. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Barfield said.

By the time officers entered, the fire had burned out, and officers were able to take custody of the remaining five inmates without incident. Three of the inmates asked for medical treatment but were soon returned to the jail, Barfield said.

Deputies have surveillance video and are investigating how the fire started and who was responsible, Barfield told The Herald in a telephone interview

The jail did not require evacuation and there is no change in use of the detention center, according to Barfield and Sheriff Barry Faile.

South Carolina law requires the sheriff’s office to operate the county detention center. The jail usually houses more than 100 inmates who are in custody pending trial or serving sentences of less than 90 days, according to county officials.

Law enforcement, several fire departments from Lancaster County and the city of Lancaster, and EMS responded to the jail, which is at 1941 Pageland Highway in the city of Lancaster.

Lancaster County Fire Marshal Mike Magette said the fire was small and contained quickly. Firefighters ventilated the jail, Magette said.

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