WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga. — We’re starting to get an inside look at the middle Georgia prison riot where three inmates were killed, and 12 others were injured.
An eyewitness said the whole thing unfolded inside the prison’s visitation area, saying it happened in a matter of seconds.
The witness, speaking to WGXA-TV and asking not to be identified, said she felt that something was off that day at the Washington State Prison.
She said all of a sudden, she saw guards bolt out of the visitation area on Sunday afternoon, leaving just one female officer to watch the room.
“Something’s going on, we heard very loud yelling from the walkie-talkies. You could hear her say, ‘Don’t open that door. You can’t come in here,’” the witness said.
The woman said she could hear the guards yelling at the inmates inside the prison, and then they started yelling at visitors to get out of the visitation room.
The witness said that’s when the group overpowered a guard, taking his keys to get into the visitation room.
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“The prisoners that were trying to come through the door were right behind her, hot on her heels. There’s blood and weapons, and busted through a door. But they’re standing between us and our loved ones,” the witness said.
The attack killed three inmates, Ahmod Hatcher, Jimmy Trammell, and Teddy Jackson.
Channel 2’s Candace McCowan spoke with Trammell’s brother, Aquinas, on Monday, who said his brother was set to be released in just days.
“He did 10 years in this prison, and he didn’t make it home,” he said. “I was going to pick him up from the bus station, but I didn’t get that chance.”
Aquinas said he got the call from the warden in the early hours of Monday morning.
“She just said he was involved in an altercation, and he lost his life,” he said.
He said he’s heartbroken and angry about his brother’s death.
“I’m real angry, I’m holding back my tears right now. I want to cuss. I want somebody to cuss because I don’t have anyone to cuss out about this but Washington State Prison,” Aquinas said.
Hatcher’s family is also demanding answers and accountability about how this could happen.
“(A) piece of my heart was just torn out of my chest. He was scared for his life. They were the cause of my son getting killed because they weren’t doing their job,” Deamonte Hatcher said.
As for the witness, she said it is just now sinking in about how serious the incident was.
“It’s really just now hitting me how dangerous it really was, how much worse it could have been,” she said.
The Georgia Department of Corrections is currently in the middle of its investigation into the riot.
Information from WGXA-TV used in this article.