TDOC, Whiteville PD investigate stabbing at Hardeman County Correctional Facility

WHITEVILLE, Tenn. — An investigation is now underway after officials say four inmates were stabbed at a Hardeman County prison.

Officers say it happened when a group of inmates started fighting.

“There was blue lights going down the road very fast,” said Autumn Trotter, who works down the street from the Hardeman County Correctional Facility.

A frightening scene described by many who live around Union Springs Road in Whiteville.

“I heard that multiple inmates were stabbed,” Trotter said. “Everybody came in the store asking, ‘What’s going on, what’s going on?”

Officers with the Whiteville Police Department say four inmates at the facility were stabbed around 8 p.m. Saturday.

CoreCivic, which owns the facility, released a statement saying one inmate was flown to Memphis for treatment and two others were taken to local hospitals.

Officials said it all started when a small group of inmates started fighting at a day unit center at the correctional facility.

“Everytime we see them going down Union Springs Road, the town people get a little worried,” Trotter said.

Whiteville police officials said they received reports of a riot at the prison, but investigators said those reports were false.

Officers say the incident was gang related, and at no time did the inmates try to take control of the facility.

“Law-enforcement is very competent, so as a town we don’t worry on a daily basis,” Trotter said.

As officers investigate, Trotter said she hopes this incident will be the last.

“Everybody in town knows that we are going to be O.K.,” she said.

Whiteville police say no staff members were injured in the incident.

Officers say none of the inmates injuries appear to be life-threatening.

Both the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Whiteville Police Department are leading the investigation.