Two inmates stabbed during suspected gang fight at private prison in Youngstown

An inmate at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center was hospitalized Wednesday after being stabbed in what is being described as a large, gang-related fight, according to a Youngstown Police Department report.

Police responded to the facility on Hubbard Road after receiving a report of an inmate being stabbed. An investigator with the Ohio Department of Corrections told officers that a large fight involving five inmates broke out in a dayroom area at approximately just after two p.m.

The report named five inmates allegedly involved in the incident.

The investigator didn’t know about the circumstances surrounding the fight, but believed it to be gang-related. Two inmates were stabbed with makeshift shanks, described as 11-inch-long pieces of aluminum, possibly from a ladder. Both were treated on-site for their injuries.

One inmate was transported by staff to a hospital, where he was treated in trauma for a stab wound above his right eyelid. He is currently in stable condition.

Staff at the correctional facility collected two homemade metal shanks, which are being held by the facility as evidence.

The Ohio Department of Corrections is in the process of providing camera footage of the incident to the Youngstown Police Detectives who are investigating the case.

21 News has emailed the prison operator, Core Civic, for more information about the incident.

Brian Todd, the manager of Public Affairs with Core Civic, gave the following statement regarding the incident:

"On Wednesday, June 25, at approximately 2:02 p.m. (EDT), correctional officers at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC) intervened to stop an altercation involving five inmates. Medical staff at the facility quickly responded to render aid and conduct medical assessments. The incident remains under investigation."