WAYCROSS, Ga. — A week after a bloody riot, a South Georgia prison remains on lockdown.
But new video continues to surface showing a situation that both guards and inmates say is a powderkeg.
Inmates took control of Ware State Prison Saturday, a riot that played out live on social media, as fires were set and guards were taken hostage.
Several employees spoke to First Coast News on the condition of anonymity fearing retaliation.
One, who arrived moments after the riot began to assist, said, “It looked like a warzone," filed with the smell of chemical agents. "Chaos, destruction.”
Prison officials say two officers were hospitalized, but employees tell First Coast News at least four were injured, two of them beaten and stabbed.
Just one remains hospitalized. But even some employees who weren’t physically injured have been unable to return.
“I haven’t been able to sleep, I’ve been dreaming about it,” says the employee. “My chest is hurting. I hear alarms even when there aren’t any.”
Employees say they’re feeling anxiety and PTSD, but also a real fear of what they consider a critical staffing shortage. Even before the riot, the state's prison system has struggled to retain correctional officers; more than 70 percent of new hires last year quit.
In the past few years, multiple employees tell First Coast News, the prison has seen optimal staffing levels of about 35 drop to a less ideal but manageable 24.
Since the riot, one staffer says, just a skeleton staff remains.
“Since that night, probably around 20 officers have quit, since that night,” says the employee. “One or two nights ago, there was only two officers on the compound. Two vs. 1,500. That’s just insane.”
State Prison officials told First Coast News that staffing at the prison is “appropriate." The Georgia Department of Corrections says it has assigned additional staff to assist with day-to-day operations during the lockdown.
Tensions at the prison remain high. Since the riot, inmates have posted videos complaining about lockdown conditions, saying there is no running water or electricity and inadequate food.
The mother of an inmate says the conditions are inhumane – but also risky.
“That puts the workers in danger because of what’s going on with the inmates and that’s not fair to either one of them," she said.
The riot comes after a tough month for Ware State. Besides the riot, there have been two inmate murders and two COVID-19 deaths since June.
“It just hasn’t been safe,” says one employee who says she probably will never return. “They have been jumping out of their cells. You know, they’re rapists, child molesters. I’m afraid I could get snatched up one day.”