Hays State Prison is located just east of U.S. Highway 27, in Trion Ga.

Police say a Hays State Prison inmate killed over the weekend was stabbed several times with a homemade knife.

But authorities still won't release the name of the inmate killed early Saturday morning outside the cafeteria at the maximum-security prison in Trion, Ga.

A fight broke out among several inmates about 4:45 a.m., and one of the inmates was stabbed multiple times with a sharp object known as a shank, said Greg Ramey, Georgia Bureau of Investigation assistant special agent in charge of the Calhoun office.

Since it was early in the morning, only some of the inmates were out of their cells, Ramey said. Some were attending special services for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while others were up early for work, he said, but wouldn't say who was involved in the fight.

Several weapons were found outside the cafeteria, Ramey said, but the motive for the fight still is not known.

The GBI is heading the investigation, and several inmates could face murder charges, Ramey said. He couldn't say when the investigation would be completed.

Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan said the department wasn't commenting on the investigation at this time.

Ramey said he wasn't sure if there were cameras located in the area of the fight.

This isn't the first time Hays State Prison has had problems in the past year.

In December, the facility was one of the Georgia prisons in which prisoners went on strike, saying they wouldn't work until their living conditions were improved. Officials kept the prison on lockdown during that time; the strike lasted five days.

Last month, a civil rights group sued the prison on behalf of four inmates who claim they were abused by prison officers last year.

Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6659.