2 Guards, 3 Inmates Injured In Ware State Prison Riot

WAYCROSS, GA — Five people were injured in a prison riot in Georgia Saturday night. Two prison staff members and three inmates at the Ware State Prison, five miles north of Waycross, all sustained what officials have said are injuries that are not life-threatening.

A golf cart was set on fire and several windows were broken during the riot that broke out around 10:45 p.m., the Georgia Department of Corrections said. No major damage to the prison was reported. But it was put on lockdown around 1 a.m. and remained on lockdown in the later morning hours on Sunday.

"The cause of the disturbance is unknown at this time," GDC said in a statement. They said "non-lethal ammunition" was used, and the incident brought under control with no public safety risk posed at any time.

Numbers from GDC show Ware is on the high-end among prisons in Georgia for confirmed coronavirus cases with 32 staff members and 22 inmates having been infected as of Sunday. 12 staff members and five inmates have recovered from the virus.