Corrections officer hospitalized after stabbing at Lieber

A state Department of Corrections officer stabbed at Lieber Correctional Institute this morning is in stable condition after he was attacked by two inmates living on death row.

About 9 a.m., the officer assigned to the death row area was monitoring the pair near an outdoor, fenced-in recreational area when he was stabbed repeatedly with a makeshift weapon.

The officer, who was not identified, was able to get away from the two the inmates and get back inside the dormitory. The inmates followed, and other officers assigned to the unit used what was described as “chemical munitions” to subdue them.

The officer was transported to Medical University of South Carolina and remains there. His injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, a Department of Corrections spokesman said.

The two inmates involved in the attack were identified as: Quincy Jovan Allen, convicted of murder in Richland County, and Mikal Mahdi, convicted of murder in Calhoun County. Allen was committed to the Department of Corrections in March 2005, and Mahdi was committed in July 2004.

Allen and Mahdi have been moved to special management cells reserved for disorderly inmates. Inmate movements at Lieber have been restricted while investigations continue by both the Department of Corrections and the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.