In two separate skirmishes at the D.C. Central Detention Facility, five inmates sustained stab and puncture wounds from homemade knives and other weapons on May 26.
According to Sylvia Lane, a corrections spokeswoman, three of the men were taken to hospitals and two were treated by a prison doctor, she said. None of the wounds were believed to be life threatening. “There was a fight in an inmate housing unit at approximately 8:30 p.m. involving five inmates; no responding officers were injured and the unit was quickly secured and locked down,” Lane said in an emailed statement.
Rumors initially connected the fight to Richard Byrd, an alleged Baltimore drug trafficker awaiting trial at D.C. Jail. Officials suspect him of running a heroin operation inside the jail.
Despite Byrd being on lockdown since March 30, prosecutors accused him of having a stronghold in the Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) and an ability to make contact with potential government witnesses. Those rumors, however, have not been substantiated.
Earlier, police responded to the jail for a report of a man being stabbed about 7:18 p.m., Lane said. That victim was taken to a hospital with injuries that are believed to be non-life threatening.
It was not clear if the two incidents were related. “A full investigation is being conducted by regarding the incident. No determination has yet been made on the cause or motive of the fight,” Lane said.