Bishopville, SC (WLTX) - Families are reacting after finding out their loved ones died at Lee Correctional Institution Sunday night.
Seven inmates were killed and seventeen others were injured at the maximum security prison after fights broke out in three different dorms.
Amanda Evans is at a loss for words. Her boyfriend Eddie Gaskins is among those killed at Lee Correctional Institution.
“To know Eddie is to know life," said Evans. "It feels like everything else is gone and he was always the one to make it better.”
Evans says just a few weeks ago, she and Gaskins made their relationship official. Little did she know Sunday night would be the last time she would talk to him.
“I asked him what was going on and he told me that they were on lockdown last week. He told me that things were still really bad and that he had to get out of there," she said. "He was just trying to do right so he could get home.”
Evans said it was part of her daily morning routine to talk to Evans on the phone.
After her mother texted her that there had been seven killed inside the prison, she feared the worst would become her reality.
“When I messaged his sister, I said we needed to get him out of there as soon as possible. She told me that it was too late and that he was killed last night. I said, ‘Please tell me you’re lying,’ and she said, ‘I wish I was,” explained Evans.
While officials say the confrontation inside the facility was about territory, contraband, and cell phones, Evans says it’s unfair her boyfriend had to die.
She says something needs to be done to prevent things like this from happening in the corrections system.
“Knowing that somebody else’s family is gone and that some child is never going to see them again, it’s crazy. I’d tell him that I love him and I’m sorry,” said Evans.
Evans and her family says they are planning on writing South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to hopefully create a change in the system. They also would like to offer their thoughts and prayers for everyone suffering from the incident.