FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a stabbing incident that happened inside the Fulton County Jail Thursday evening.
Officials say one of the inmates has died and four others are injured.
Channel 2 Action News learned that the inmate killed was 23-year-old Dayvion Blake.
The other inmates involved have not been identified.
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There is no word on what led up to the stabbings or possible suspects.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was outside the Fulton County Jail Friday, where family and friends of Blake said they just talked to him about a week ago and he sounded like he was in good spirits.
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Blake was the father of a two-year-old daughter. He had been in jail since January on several charges including possession of cocaine and battery. He also had an active warrant out of Sumpter County for aggravated assault.
His family acknowledged that he made mistakes, but was ready to get out and set a better example for his daughter.
“She was two years old, and now she’s going to be spending the rest of her life without her father,” Sonya Marquis, Blake’s aunt, said.
Investigators said the stabbing stemmed from a fight between a group of inmates. It’s unclear what they were fighting about.
Family members said Blake was not a gang member. Now, they just want answers.
“We want an explanation,” Marquis said. “We want an investigation. We want to know what happened.”
Since July 31, five inmates have died in the jail. Nine have been pronounced dead since the beginning of the year, several of them in medical unit cells.
The jail issued a statement, saying:
“The recent outbreak of violence at the Fulton County Jail is of grave concern but unfortunately is not surprising considering the long-standing, dangerous overcrowding and the crumbling walls of the facility that are literally being crafted into makeshift weapons that inmates use to attack each other and staff. We have had an unfortunate series of deaths this year that range from natural causes, to pre-existing health conditions, to homicide. To mitigate the violence and overcrowding, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is in constant negotiations with other detention facilities, including facilities out of state, to outsource inmates. "
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in July that they are launching a civil rights investigation into the Fulton County Jail.
The DOJ announced they will be doing a comprehensive investigation of the living conditions at the jail, access to medical care and mental healthcare, use of force and conditions that may give rise to violence against inmates.
They are also investigating whether the jail discriminates against incarcerated people with psychiatric disabilities.
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