GLENNVILLE, Georgia – An inmate used a gun to kill a kitchen worker at a Georgia prison Sunday morning before shooting himself to death, state authorities said.
The Georgia Department of Corrections, in a statement, said it is investigating the deaths at Smith State Prison in rural southeast Georgia. The agency provided few immediate details, including how the inmate obtained a firearm.
The agency’s statement said inmate Jaydrekus Hart fatally shot a food service employee in the prison kitchen around 4:30 a.m. Sunday and then used the gun to kill himself.
“The weapon is in the custody of the GDC at this time, and a full and thorough investigation into what led to this tragic incident will be undertaken,” the statement said.
Agency spokeswoman Lori Benoit did not provide further information when reached by phone. She said more details will be released when they become available.
The name of the murdered kitchen worker, an employee of the food company Aramark, was not immediately released.
It is the second murder of a Smith State Prison employee in less than a year. Correctional Officer Robert Clark, 42, died last October after an inmate he was escorting attacked him from behind with a homemade weapon.
A state investigation into a prison smuggling scheme resulted in the arrest and dismissal of the prison warden, Brian Adamsin February 2023. He was charged with extortion, bribery, making or writing false statements, and violating his oath as a public official.
Hart had been incarcerated since 2015 after being convicted in Carroll County of manslaughter and aggravated assault, according to online jail records. Its first potential release date would be in 2043.
Smith State Prison, which has a capacity of 1,500 inmates, is a high-security prison that houses offenders considered violent or a flight risk.
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