A man jailed for murdering a toddler by shooting her in the head has been killed in a savage prison attack.
Semajs Short died at the hands of a gang of prisoners at the Bertie Correctional Institution, in Windsor, North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon.
The 24-year-old, who was jailed at the age of 17, was targeted in the housing area of the prison.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety confirmed his death, saying that Short died at around 2.37pm despite efforts by first responders to save him.
Several other inmates were reportedly wounded in the attack, but sustained only non-life-threatening injuries.
At the time of his death Short had been serving a 31-year-sentence for the murder of toddler Dy’Unanna Anderson.
He had pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of the two-year-old at the age of 17.
Short stood trial alongside Jamonte Moody, who pleaded guilty to attempting to murder Dy-Unanna’s grandmother.
According to RR Spin, District Attorney Valerie M. Asbell said at his sentencing: “This was a horrendous event which shocked our entire community especially when it involved the murder of an innocent two-year-old girl and the attempted murder of her grandmother.
“It is my job as district attorney to hold people accountable for their actions and their roles in certain crimes.
“Our homes are where we should feel safe and when events like this occur, it shakes our sense of security in the sanctity of our own homes.”
The attacks were carried out in retribution for the murder of 15-year-old Keyuon Garner.
Short and Moody went to the home of the sister of Teddy Anderson, who was wanted in connection with the murder at that point.
They stood on an air conditioning unit at a window where the baby, her mother and grandmother slept, a court heard back in 2017, and began shooting.
The grandmother was hit several times by bullets and even sustained a shot to the head.
Dy’Unanna was shot through the head and likely died before she got to hospital.
The Windsor Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation are looking into the attack on Short.
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