Mississippi sheriff reports inmates rioted, set fire to jail; no injuries reported

Published 10:14 am Thursday, July 16, 2020

Inmates at a Mississippi county’s jail held a riot Wednesday and set fire to part of the facility, the local sheriff reported.

The incident happened at the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office in Monticello, Mississippi.

Deputies report that inmates in one of the jail’s detention zones rioted and managed to start a fire.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“Once the inmates were contained and back under control, the Monticello Fire Department and Lawrence County Fire Service extinguished the remainder of the Fire,” the sheriff’s office reported in a written statement.

The sheriff’s office reported that no officers responding to the prior nor any of the inmates were injured in the incident.

Some of the inmates that rioted have been transferred to other facilities, the sheriff’s office said.

Exactly what started the riot is not clear.