2 KILLED IN 2 DAYS IN NEW YORK'S PRISONS
A PRISONER WAS STABBED IN A GANG FIGHT FRIDAY EVENING AT ATTICA, WHILE ANOTHER DIED BY FIRE HOURS LATER IN A CELL AT EASTERN
MALONE, NEW YORK July 20, 2026 Last updated: 6:10 PM
Two men were killed within hours of each other in New York's prisons over the weekend. One was killed by fire in a cell.
Joaquin Bullock was stabbed to death in a fight between two groups at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility outside Buffalo Friday afternoon, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in a news release on Sunday.
"Preliminary information indicates that an altercation between several incarcerated individuals occurred in a recreation yard at Attica Correctional Facility Friday evening, July 17, resulting in the death of one incarcerated individual and injuries to another individual," the DOCCS' news release said.
"The New York State Police (NYSP) responded and the investigation is ongoing," DOCCS added.
“A total of seven incarcerated individuals were involved in the fight and have been identified,” the State Police said.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that one group of incarcerated individuals attacked a second group of incarcerated individuals,” the State Police revealed. A “second incarcerated individual was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Erie County Medical Center. “
The fight was part of a long-running war between two Blood sets: Sex, Money, Murda versus the Gorilla Stone Nation, a source told The Free Lance News. Bullock was serving time for manslaughter, but his victim was not a GSN member, according to the source.
Bullock was, however, slashed on Rikers Island by a GSN member, the source added.
An exotic ceramic knife allegedly was the murder weapon, according to the source.
The Free Lance News could not confirm that a cermaic knife was in fact the murder weapon.
Ceramic is undetectable by the metal detectors officials typically use to detect weapons inside prisons. It would, however, be detectable by the new airport-style body scanners New York’s prisons recently began using the scan visitors. The upshot being if a ceramic blade was used, it was likely smuggled into the prison by a guard or another prison worker.
Meanwhile, about 300 miles southeast just before 2:00AM early Saturday morning, Marcos Alcaraz was killed in his cell at the Eastern Correctional Facility, another maximum-security prison just outside Ellenville.
"At approximately 1:40AM Saturday, July 18, staff at the Eastern NY Correctional Facility observed a fire inside a cell and the incarcerated occupant unresponsive,” DOCCS said in a news release on Sunday.
"Facility staff immediately made emergency notification, got the fire under control, and promptly initiated life-saving measures," DOCCS said.
Alcaraz was taken to a local hospital, but the 35-year-old "was later pronounced deceased. The incident remains under active investigation," according to the news release.
An autopsy was performed on Monday. Alcaraz suffered both burns and smoke inhalation, the medical examiner confirmed, a source said.
A total of 84 prisoners have died in DOCCS' custody since January 1, according to DOCCS' latest monthly report. 21 of those are listed as having died of natural causes while a whopping 53 are listed with a presently unknown cause of death.
"2026 has seen the most in-custody deaths of any year since at least 2020, including during the COVID-19 pandemic," prison watch-dog group Correctional Association of New York reported in May.
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