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WINDSOR – An offender housed at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor was killed this afternoon (Tuesday) after being assaulted by a group of other offenders.

Semajs Short, 24, was attacked in a housing area at the prison by a number of other offenders at 2:14 p.m., according to information shared in a press release from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

The prison’s first responders performed life-saving measures until local paramedics arrived and also worked to resuscitate the offender. Short was pronounced dead by paramedics at approximately 2:37 p.m.

Three other offenders were injured during the group assault and were taken to an outside medical facility for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The Windsor Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating the incident. The Department of Public Safety is fully cooperating in the investigation and will seek criminal prosecution against any offender involved in the altercation.

The prison was placed on modified lockdown as investigators worked to discover more about what happened and why. No staff were injured.

Short was convicted of second-degree murder in Halifax County on April 3, 2017. He was serving a 31-year sentence. He was projected to be released on May 7, 2042.