Shots fired at Lee State Prison guards

LEESBURG — Officials with Lee State Prison were tight-lipped Tuesday morning about an incident that occurred along the facility’s perimeter fence around 2:30 a.m. when prison guards were shot at by a suspect or suspects attempting to throw contraband over the fence.

Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals said his department was assisting the Department of Corrections in a manhunt for suspects and confirmed the shooting incident at the prison.

“I can’t say much at this time,” Rachals said mid-morning. “We are just assisting in the search for the suspect or suspects. It was not my deputies who were shot at, it was guards at the prison. No one was injured as far as I know.”

Contacted later Tuesday afternoon after a meeting with Lee State Prison officials, Rachals said he had nothing new to add to his earlier comments.

The prison was abuzz with activity Tuesday, and roadblocks had been set up throughout Lee County as law enforcement officials attempted to locate the gunman or gunmen.

Warden Amy Smith said she could not give any statements about the incident and directed all questions to the Georgia Department of Corrections Public Relations department.

“We are not allowed to give anything out,” Smith said. “We have a public information department that handles that. Any statements about the incident will have to come from them.”

Georgia Department of Corrections Director of Public Relations Joan Heath confirmed the incident Tuesday afternoon and said that contraband was found along the fence line after prison guards were shot at by an unknown individual or individuals.

“There was an incident at the prison around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning,” Heath said. “As far as I know, no one was injured, but shots were fired at several guards.”

Heath explained that contraband is a serious concern within the state prison system, and said it was possible that whoever shot at the Lee guards was attempting to throw material over the fence when they were discovered.

“Contraband is always an issue in the prison system and some contraband was found after the suspect(s) fled, but I don’t know for certain if it is tied to whoever was out there,” she said. “We believe it was. It was found in the general area where the incident took place, but I can’t say with 100 percent certainty.”

Heath said no descriptions have been released because prison officials have none.

“Unfortunately, we do not have any descriptions to give out because it was 2:30 in the morning and it was extremely dark when this took place,” she said. “No one got a good look at them, and my understanding is that there is not even a full confirmation on the vehicle used, because it was so dark.”

Rumors had circulated about a dark-colored Nissan, but nothing has been confirmed.

Although no description of the suspect or suspects was available, officials at the Lee Sheriff’s Office described the unknown perpetrators as “armed and dangerous.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lee Sheriff’s Office at (229) 759-6052.