Two Mississippi inmates have escaped from a state penitentiary, sparking a manhunt after a week of riots at prisons across the state. The Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a Facebook post that David May, 42, and Dillion Williams, 27, were discovered missing during an emergency count at about 1:45 a.m. on Saturday. The department did not say why the emergency count was called, but the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where the men are imprisoned, has had three deaths this week. Two other men were killed this week at the South Mississippi Correctional Institute in Leakesville. CBS News reports that the violence is believed to be gang-related. May is serving a life sentence for two aggravated assault convictions, and Williams is serving 40 years for residential burglary and aggravated assault, according to the department of corrections. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact the department of corrections at 662-745-6611, or the nearest law enforcement agency.