Raleigh, NC – A North Carolina prison inmate convicted of murdering a two-year-old child was killed by a group of fellow inmates on Tuesday afternoon, according to investigators.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) said a group of inmates attacked 24-year-old Semajs Short inside a Bertie Correctional Institution housing area at approximately 2:15 p.m. on March 29, KCPQ reported.

Prison emergency personnel administered lifesaving aid until paramedics arrived at the prison.  Short was pronounced dead at 2:37 p.m., KCPQ reported.

The NCDPS said three other inmates were transported to an outside hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Short was five years into a 31-year prison sentence for the 2014 second-degree murder of two-year-old Dy’Unanna Anderson and the attempted murder of the child’s grandmother when he was killed, KCPQ reported.  He was slated to be released from prison in 2044.

Short was one of four suspects who were charged in connection with the 2014 shooting, WRAL reported.  He was 17 years old at the time.  Police said Short and a second suspect climbed onto an air conditioning unit to see into the room where Anderson and her grandmother, Catherine Price, were located, WAVY reported.  Price and the baby were asleep when they opened fire.

Anderson was killed, and Price was shot multiple times, WAVY reported. At least one round lodged in Price’s skull. She had to be revived twice, but she survived.

Investigators said the murder of the toddler and the attempted murder of the child’s grandmother were carried out in retaliation for the murder of 15-year-old Keyeon Garner, WRAL reported.

The suspect accused of murdering Garner was the little girl’s uncle, police said at the time. Prison records showed Short was found to have committed over 24 infractions during his time in custody, WAVY reported. Many of those violations involved gang behavior, fighting with weapons, lock tampering, and possessing a banned communication device.

The prison was placed on modified lockdown Tuesday as the investigation into the fatal attack was being conducted, WITN reported.  None of the prison staff members were injured.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Windsor Police Department are handling the ongoing investigation, WITN reported.