North Carolina prison placed on lockdown after fights

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina prison was placed on lockdown after a series of fights.

The Charlotte Observer reports the N.C. Department of Public Safety says the fights occurred on Sunday at the Alexander Correctional Institution. Spokesman Jerry Higgins said the lockdown was put into effect Monday.

Higgins said two inmates were sent outside the prison so their injuries could be treated, and a prison officer suffered an injury to his face.

In the first seven months of 2018, the state reported 245 assaults on prison workers, the Observer reported. Thirty-two of those arttacks involved weapons.

Five prison workers were killed in 2017, leading to increased attention on staff shortages and safety issues at the state's prisons.

Alexander Correctional Institution is in Taylorsville, 64 miles (102 km) northwest of Charlotte.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

• NC mom shares warning after mosquito bite leaves 6-year-old in ICU
• North Carolina parents charged after teen shoots himself 
• 1 killed, 2 others injured after gunfire erupts during Concord party
• WATCH: Jaclyn Shearer's Monday forecast outlook 
• Police identify man who grandmother found dead in north Charlotte home 

Associated Press