An inmate at the D.C. jail died Sunday morning after being stabbed with a makeshift weapon during a fight inside the facility. The altercation broke out around 11 a.m. between two inmates at the D.C. Central Detention Facility, and the stabbed man was pronounced dead shortly after 11:30 a.m. despite efforts to save his life.
According to WTOP News, the Department of Corrections said the fight occurred Sunday morning, with D.C. police reporting that a man was stabbed in the altercation and died shortly after 11:30 a.m. The outlet reported that people inside the facility tried to save the man's life before he was pronounced dead. The Department of Corrections says it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for violence, per the same report, even as the killing is now being investigated by D.C. police homicide detectives and the Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services.
Separately, NBC Washington reported that officers found 29-year-old Carlos Shelley suffering from apparent stab wounds at the jail at about 2:30 p.m. The station said Shelley, of Southeast, was awaiting trial on carjacking charges, and that the Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the killing.
A Pattern of Violence Behind Jail Walls
Sunday's stabbing is not the first deadly or near-deadly incident inside the District's jail system. On Oct. 29, 2025, an inmate was stabbed at the jail in a case that led to charges against Antonio Kingsbury and Raghee Jordan, according to DC Witness. That victim suffered a stab wound to the upper left outer arm and shoulder along with bruising on his back, the outlet reported. Jordan and Kingsbury later pleaded guilty, with Jordan sentenced to four years in prison followed by two years of supervised release and Kingsbury sentenced to one year and eight months, also with supervised release terms, per the same outlet.
In another case tracked by DC Witness, Michael Sanders was sentenced to 72 months in prison after pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon for a nonfatal stabbing of a fellow inmate at the jail on April 1, 2025. That victim sustained 18 stab wounds, the outlet reported, and the sentencing judge pointed to the dangerousness of conditions inside the jail. A 2024 report from the same organization found that inmate stabbing attacks at the jail rose 38.46% between 2022 and 2023, pointing to broader safety problems inside the facility.
Earlier Mass Stabbing Incident Also on Record
Violence inside the Central Detention Facility isn't confined to one-on-one altercations. On Dec. 10, 2023, multiple inmates were stabbed in a single incident, with three residents transported by FEMS to local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, according to DC News Now.
The U.S. Department of Justice has separately notified the District of Columbia that it is investigating whether conditions inside D.C. Department of Corrections facilities violate the Constitution, stating it is committed to ensuring no inmate is confined in unconstitutional conditions or subjected to unconstitutional mistreatment. That inquiry has not been linked to Sunday's fatal stabbing. The Department of Corrections also notes that its inmate-population statistics are updated only quarterly, leaving the current scope of violence inside the jail this year unclear.
As of now, the identity of the inmate who died Sunday, the person or people responsible, and any resulting charges have not been disclosed. D.C. police homicide detectives and the Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services continue to investigate.
