Deputies at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center responded to a violent fight among inmates in Pod G around 5 p.m. on Monday, then returned to the same facility roughly four hours later for a suspected overdose. At least three inmates suffered lacerations and puncture wounds in the brawl, and staff later had to revive an unresponsive inmate with Narcan before EMS rushed that person to a hospital.
According to WACH, deputies first responded to reports of a fight involving multiple inmates in Pod G around 5 p.m. Monday. The Richland County Sheriff's Department confirmed the altercation involved weapons, and deputies recovered three homemade shanks from the scene, The Post and Courier reports. Detention center medical staff treated the injuries on site.
Roughly four hours later, around 9 p.m., deputies were called back to the jail for a second incident entirely: a suspected overdose, according to WLTX. Staff found an inmate unresponsive and administered Narcan, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and the inmate regained consciousness before EMS transported them to a hospital. The sheriff's department has not released the suspected substance or additional details about the inmate's condition.
Both Cases Still Under Investigation
The sheriff's department said both incidents remain the subjects of active investigations, the same report notes. No information about who was involved in the fight, or whether charges have resulted from it, has been made public.
This is far from the jail's first brush with violence this year. On Oct. 19, three inmates were charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after a detainee was stabbed in the recreation yard, according to The State. A second stabbing was reported at the jail later that same day, around 3:45 p.m., and remained under investigation.
A Jail With a Troubled Recent Record
The Post and Courier describes Alvin S. Glenn as having been plagued with frequent violent crimes and instances of staff misconduct for multiple years. The outlet also reported that two inmates were stabbed during an altercation on May 27, and that an inmate overdosed in a non-fatal incident on April 16.
The sheriff's department has separately said that 62 crimes at the jail went unreported since December 2025, per the same outlet's reporting. That backdrop of unreported incidents adds weight to Monday's twin emergencies, even as investigators have yet to say whether the fight and the suspected overdose are connected in any way.
