An inmate in a North Carolina prison was allegedly assaulted and killed by a group of fellow inmates on March 29.
Twenty-four-year-old Semajs Short was attacked in a housing area at Bertie Correctional Institution. Emergency workers at the prison performed life-saving measures until local paramedics arrived, but Short was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Three other inmates were injured during the assault and were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The prison was placed on modified lockdown as investigators worked to find out what happened.
In 2017, Short was sentenced to 31 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of a 2-year-old girl and attempted murder of the grandmother in 2014.
The shooting was said to be in retaliation for the killing of one of Short’s friends, and he decided to target the family of the suspect in his friend’s death.
Short had served five years of his sentence when he was killed in the prison. According to the Department of Public Safety, he had been projected to be released in 2044.
