SC inmate with history of weapon possession behind bars stabs roommate, officials say

An inmate in South Carolina’s prison system will face criminal charges after allegedly stabbing his roommate “several times” and holding him hostage for two hours, officials said Monday.

The suspect is Matt Samuel Cox, an inmate at Kershaw Correctional Institution, who was convicted of kidnapping and felony battery charges in 2016 in Sumter County, according to records from the S.C. Department of Corrections.

Corrections released some details from its official Twitter account Monday. The tweets said that the inmate would face “internal and criminal charges.”

The roommate, who is not named, is being treated for “non life-threatening wounds” after “the inmate’s mental health counselor helped resolve the situation without further violence,” the department tweeted.

Cox has a history of misconduct behind bars, according to Corrections records. He had been punished twice before for possessing a weapon. He was also punished for possession of contraband and threatening to hurt an employee, according to prison records.

This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 1:04 PM.