Inmate injured at Richland County jail for third time in as many days, deputies say

For the third time in as many days, an inmate at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center was hurt in a violent incident, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.

After back-to-back days where inmates were taken to the hospital following stabbings inside the jail, another inmate was hurt Saturday in a fight, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

At about noon, deputies responded to reports of an assault at the jail in Columbia, according to the release.

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, in addition to a pair of stabbings at the jail on Thursday and Friday.

Attacks this week

In Thursday’s stabbing, 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 Friday, 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.

Recent trouble

There have been other violent incidents in the jail this month. Including the most recent attacks, deputies have reported five hospitalizations for stabbings inside the jail so far this month.

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.

Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center has been under scrutiny because of severe under-staffing, 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 nine assaults in the jail in 2023.