Prison officers in Negombo were reportedly stripped naked, beaten, and killed.

The violent clash that turned the Negombo Prison complex into an unprecedented fierce battlefield succeeded in deeply shocking the entire country. This chaotic situation, which began with a dispute between two groups of prisoners escalating, eventually developed into a series of deadly attacks on prison officers and security forces.

This brutal bloodshed resulted in the deaths of twenty-six people, including seven prison officers, while nearly a hundred others were hospitalized with serious injuries. Among the deceased prison officers were Jailer S.H.S. Chandrawansa, the chief instructor in charge of drill display training, and Senior Warden D.W. Pushpakumara, who served in the Rapid Response Tactical Force, along with Wardens S.D.S. Abeywardena, A.D. Tharanga, T.N.R. Thilakasiri, and B.N.N. Tharanga. It was observed that other junior officers present wept bitterly as the motionless bodies of their fellow officers were brought out of the prison gate.

According to reports on the incident, the unrest that had been controlled the previous night flared up violently again when prison officers entered the cells the following morning to provide breakfast and facilitate visits for relatives. There, a group of frenzied inmates stripped the prison officers naked, brutally assaulted, and killed them. The inmates also forcibly seized firearms and mobile phones from these officers and attacked other officers who came to rescue them, holding them hostage. Prisoners broke off iron bars from sports equipment in the prison's physical exercise unit and used them as deadly weapons to launch attacks. As the situation further deteriorated, inmates attempted to break into the prison's main office, dispensary, and armory to take control. However, the authorities state that a major disaster was averted because prison officials had already removed all firearms from the armory to secure locations the previous day.

As control within the prison completely slipped away, the Police Special Task Force (STF), Riot Control Unit, Police, and Army had to be called in large numbers to bring the situation under control. Nearly 500 additional police officers from Negombo, Gampaha, and Chilaw Police Divisions, along with 200 STF officers, were deployed for security operations. As security forces surrounded the prison, inmates attacked officers outside the walls with roof tiles and iron bars from above. Subsequently, the STF and Police broke through the main prison gate, entered, and fired shots to bring the situation under control. In the fierce clashes that ensued, many security force members, including 18 prison officers, eight STF officers, and three police officers, were injured. Fourteen seriously injured individuals, including four STF personnel, were promptly transferred to the Colombo National Hospital. To monitor this crisis situation within the prison from the air, the Sri Lanka Air Force deployed a Bell 412 helicopter and several drones, and the frenzied inmates fired at these drones with firearms seized from officers.