Malik Williams, a 30-year-old D.C. man, was killed inside the Central Detention Facility on Oct. 25 after an assault involving another inmate.
The DC Department of Corrections (DOC) said in a notice posted to its website that the assault with a weapon took place at approximately 11:06 a.m. Staff and medical personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but Williams was pronounced dead at the facility at approximately 11:31 a.m.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch said First District officers responded to the 1900 block of D Street, Southeast, at approximately 11:36 a.m. for a report of a stabbing inside the jail. Officers and DC Fire and EMS found an adult male in the infirmary, unconscious and not breathing, with apparent stab wounds.
Williams had been held in DOC custody on kidnapping and National Firearms Act charges out of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to the DOC notice.
A DOC spokesperson told WTOP that two inmates fought at around 11 a.m. and that a makeshift weapon was used by one of them.
In coverage published Oct. 26, Interim Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll told DC News Now the stabbing followed a fight. "Two inmates got into a fight," Carroll said. "One of the inmates was stabbed inside the jail, and he later succumbed to his injuries."
Carroll said at the time that officials had not identified who killed Williams and were working with the U.S. Attorney's Office for an arrest warrant, DC News Now reported. No suspect information has been released publicly.
The DOC said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for violence. Both MPD's Homicide Branch and the DOC Office of Investigative Services are investigating.
The killing is the latest in a string of serious incidents at the Southeast D.C. facility. On May 8, DOC security personnel found 37-year-old Marcus Benson unresponsive in his cell. He was pronounced dead at approximately 2:01 a.m., according to a separate DOC death notice. In January, 54-year-old Eric Manley was found experiencing a medical emergency in his cell and later died at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, according to another DOC notice.
In August 2025, an inmate used a homemade weapon to assault a correctional officer at the same facility, leaving the officer with multiple puncture wounds and serious injuries, according to a DOC notice from that incident.
MPD is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with knowledge of the Oct. 25 incident can call police at (202) 727-9099 or text tips to 50411.
